Chapter 7

The news that Windrise had joined as an investor quickly reached Qi Linyuan’s ears through Zhou Siqi.

Qi Linyuan had initially thought he understood why he hadn’t met Ji Yuchen in his previous life: Ji had only attended the first round of the competition, watched, and left without investing. It made sense, then, that they hadn’t met, and that Ji Yuchen had no impression of him.

But now, with this new information, he began to doubt his own memories.

This life’s “Ultimate Acting Talent” wasn’t much different from the last—except that Lu Xiang was eliminated instead of himself. But such a minor shift shouldn’t have changed Ji Yuchen’s decision, should it?

Clearly, his past self had focused on all the wrong things, a testament to his poor judgment.

Qi Linyuan chided himself for his prior foolishness, but at the same time, he felt a weight lift from his heart. As long as Windrise invested, even if Ji Yuchen didn’t visit the set again, he could leverage this connection to seek new opportunities to approach him.

Zhou Siqi was still lost in thought, oblivious to Qi Linyuan’s visible excitement. “Windrise really deserves its reputation as a major company—their vision is far beyond what smaller firms can hope to match. Did you know? Their investment condition was that the ‘royal family’ contestants can be promoted, but we must also be given a fair chance—not to be eliminated too early. So as long as we’re good enough, we can probably stay till the later rounds!”

Qi Linyuan was hardly surprised by the admiration in Zhou Siqi’s voice.

After all, Ji Yuchen was certainly worthy of such respect—or Qi Linyuan wouldn’t have had the chance to become Best Actor in his past life.

However…

“Are you sure you’re not one of the ‘royal family’? How do you even know these things?”

Like everyone else, the three of them were chatting in a camera blind spot, with no audio equipment nearby—they could talk freely without worry.

Zhou Siqi snorted. “Why can’t I know, just because I’m not ‘royal family’? Maybe I’m just ridiculously observant—a born detective?”

Qi Linyuan had been listening carefully, but this made him turn away.

Le Xi also looked away, turning to Qi Linyuan to discuss the first round’s competition that had just gone online.

Zhou Siqi called out to them a few times, but seeing they didn’t respond, he reluctantly explained, “With an investor added, the original ‘royal family’ ranking changes. The staff will definitely talk about it—it’s easy to pick up on if you listen.”

Le Xi stopped pretending to ignore him and added for Qi Linyuan’s benefit, “Don’t be fooled by his showbiz persona. His original dream was to be a journalist.”

Qi Linyuan was instantly respectful. “Then why don’t you know what President Ji looks like?”

Zhou Siqi, both embarrassed and annoyed, protested, “My dream was to be a journalist, not a paparazzo! Besides, that was my old dream. And back then, the chairman of Windrise wasn’t even President Ji, was it?”

At this, Le Xi raised a hand. “Chairman? I thought he was CEO or general manager or something. Why do people call him President Ji?”

Zhou Siqi shook his head. “No idea. That’s just what the staff call him.”

“It’s because for years, he heard people call his father by that title. Calling himself that felt unnatural,” Qi Linyuan interjected, unable to help himself because the conversation revolved around Ji Yuchen. “Besides, he’s also the CEO, so it just stuck.”

Both Zhou Siqi and Le Xi looked enlightened, but then Zhou Siqi frowned, sensing something was off. “Linyuan, didn’t you say you only heard of him? How do you know these details?”

Because I was curious in my past life and asked someone at the company, Qi Linyuan thought. But that wasn’t an answer he could say aloud. Instead, he gazed dreamily at the window across from him.

“I didn’t want to say it earlier… but I really admire President Ji. He’s so young and accomplished…”

Thanks to his acting skills, Qi Linyuan always seemed authentic—especially now, since he wasn’t pretending at all. The other two found his words entirely convincing.

Qi Linyuan had simply hoped to gloss over his interest in Ji Yuchen, but seeing their earnest nods, a new idea struck him. “If I wanted to get close to President Ji, do you have any suggestions?”

His question made both of them stare at him in horror.

Zhou Siqi looked like he wanted to say something, but he quickly tucked his feet away, wary of another stomp from Le Xi.

Qi Linyuan cut him off with a smile. “Never mind. Let’s just check the online reviews! The first viewers should have finished watching by now.”

At his suggestion, the other two immediately pulled out their phones and scrolled through social media, searching for audience comments.

Qi Linyuan didn’t look himself. He stared at the window, its hazy reflection bringing Ji Yuchen’s image to his mind.

How could he approach Ji Yuchen and warn him about those with ulterior motives? It seemed so hard…

—

“Ultimate Acting Talent” was far from an obscure variety show.

To promote their own talents, every agency had gone all out—releasing waves of marketing copy until “Ultimate Acting Talent” was hailed as the show of the year.

And indeed, the production had invested heavily. The team had conducted serious market research, and even before its launch, began unofficially spreading the slogan: “Your support will determine their fate.”

[Just watched the beginning, and it’s the judges who score, not popularity—how exactly does support affect fate?]

[If you’re popular, there’s no behind-the-scenes manipulation, right?]

[Maybe the comment above is right…]

[Apparently, there’s a later segment where the audience votes for scripts, and the winning scripts are negotiated for copyright. If a contestant is popular enough, they can perform a great script, which helps them break out and get better roles later.]

…

Perhaps because he had once dreamed of being a journalist, Zhou Siqi sifted through the information much faster than the other two, quickly screenshotting the key points and sharing them in their group chat.

“This must be staff leaking information—or at least people who overheard the staff talking.”

Qi Linyuan thought back and recalled something similar. However, he didn’t remember this segment having the breakout effect the production hoped for, so he simply nodded.

Zhou Siqi kept scrolling. Suddenly, he exclaimed, “Ah!”

The other two looked his way. Zhou Siqi waved his phone excitedly. “Look! Linyuan’s performance! It’s hit a million views!”

Le Xi perked up. “Where? Show me!” He leaned in.

Qi Linyuan, doubting his eyes, joined them. Sure enough, the video was of him, and the view count was climbing rapidly.

But what Zhou Siqi really wanted to show them was the comments. He scrolled down and opened the top-rated one.

[This one’s different from the others—an original script?]

[Original script?! That’s from ‘Uncontrollably in Love With You’!]

[Are you kidding? Was there ever such a pale and beautiful young man in the original script?]

[Second male lead! It’s the second male lead! This is the last conversation between He Ming and Xu Yunfei, when Xu Yunfei decides to let go!]

[???]

…

As the comments went on, they devolved into lines of question marks.

Zhou Siqi closed it and opened the second most liked comment.

[Heavens! Yunfei has finally been vindicated! Please, someone, remake this and let this young man play Yunfei!]

[Seconded!!!]

[A fan of the original Yunfei is in tears. When I saw Yunfei in the show two years ago, I was devastated. The actor wasn’t ugly, but he had nothing to do with the novel’s character.]

[This is Yunfei! Pale, fragile, beautiful—with his back straight, whether in love or in pain, he never comes across as weak. This young man captured what moved me about Yunfei!]

[The drama’s finished product was fine, but it was too melodramatic. The novel wasn’t, it was more about fate and missed chances. The actor playing Yunfei had exactly that effect—I can finally let go!]

…

Qi Linyuan read the comments and suddenly realized that the idol drama had a novel as its source material.

The script’s depiction of Xu Yunfei was indeed based on the novel, but when casting, perhaps to highlight the protagonist or due to the lack of suitable candidates, or for other reasons, the final character had drifted from both the novel and the script.

The popularity of the drama was matched only by the frustration of fans of the original character. Before the adaptation, He Ming and Xu Yunfei had been equally beloved, each with their own supporters. If not for the adaptation…

In short, the confluence of these factors made Qi Linyuan the “chosen Xu Yunfei” in the eyes of the novel’s fans.

“Looks like you’re safe for the second round!” Zhou Siqi and Le Xi said, genuinely happy for him. “The production team probably won’t pit you against the ‘royal family’ contestants now.”

But Qi Linyuan wasn’t so optimistic.

Especially as, in the midst of their conversation, a group passed by, and the leader shot him a venomous glare. Qi Linyuan’s instincts were quickly confirmed.

This person had disliked him from the very first meeting and tried to use Lu Xiang to eliminate him. Now that Qi Linyuan had gotten his first wave of attention, the other was even less likely to let him go.