Is This How the Entertainment Industry Works? (GL) - Chapter 37

How to make Zhao Baoshang smile became the biggest problem for this movie.

Director Xu was at his wits’ end and eventually had to slightly modify the character setting to barely muddle through Zhao Baoshang’s scenes. By the time the filming at the production base was finished, it was already September. Yan Zhen temporarily set aside her current work to prepare for school.

Before she left, Tang An discussed her future schedule with her: “Some of the outdoor scenes for Qing Shan Yuan need to be filmed in the south. It will take about a week.”

“Director Xu mentioned it to me. I’ll try my best to ask for leave.”

“The reality show starts filming in a month. The first task is mainly to introduce the participants. It’s fine if you don’t take leave then, but later on, we’ll need to go to specific locations.”

Yan Zhen nodded. “Alright. I’ll request leave when necessary.”

Tang An flipped through the documents. “There shouldn’t be anything else.” After summarizing, Tang An realized that Yan Zhen’s resources were pitifully scarce. No matter how bad other artists were, they usually had two or three endorsements and several TV dramas or films. Only Yan Zhen’s biggest claim to fame was the “Supernova Champion” title.

Tang An found it strange, but then felt it was just fate. She sighed and asked caringly, “By the way, what major did you choose?”

“I’m quite interested in Sinology,” Yan Zhen said.

“Oh, the Sinology department in the School of Liberal Arts?”

“No, I applied for Medicine.”

Tang An: “…Then what was the point of mentioning Sinology?”

“I plan to join the Sinology club,” Yan Zhen added. “Just letting you know in advance.”

“Oh.” A look of indifference appeared on Tang An’s kind face. “That might be difficult. You must prepare well.”

The Sinology and Medicine departments at Imperial Capital University were flagship majors, followed by Finance and IT. One could imagine how hard it was to get into the Sinology club. Moreover, although it was called a university, it was actually a microcosm of society where people formed interest groups to support each other. It would be incredibly difficult for someone like Yan Zhen, with zero background, to enter such a major club.

If she can get in… she really can fly to the heavens.

Yan Zhen didn’t know how little Tang An thought of her chances. She was carrying her bag to register at Imperial Capital University. The senior girl at the registration desk looked at her name and then at Yan Zhen. “Are you the one who won the All-Star championship?”

Yan Zhen nodded.

“You look a bit different from how you appeared on TV,” the girl said with a smile. She had Yan Zhen sign the student register. After signing, the girl gave her a key and a student card, explained some basics, and told her to head to the dormitory.

Yan Zhen went straight to the dorm. A girl was already sitting inside, scrolling through her phone and swearing under her breath. She had a ponytail and heavy makeup. Yan Zhen found her bed and began organizing her things.

Midway through, her phone rang. Thinking it was Zhao Baoshang, Yan Zhen answered and asked directly, “No filming today?”

Director Wang, on the other end, was stunned. “…No.”

“Director Wang?” Yan Zhen recognized the voice. “Sorry, I mistook you for someone else. I didn’t expect you to call me.”

Director Wang laughed. “It’s indeed not easy to get a hold of you. How have you been developing lately?”

“Not bad.”

“I heard you’re filming Qing Shan Yuan? That’s a big production, but since Zhao Baoshang bought it, the future is hard to say.”

“It won’t be bad in the future,” Yan Zhen said with conviction.

“Fine, I’m just giving you my opinion,” Director Wang said dismissively. “By the way, I’m planning a celebration banquet. Do you want to come?”

“A celebration banquet? For The Most Beautiful Rural Teacher?”

“Yeah.”

“The movie finished filming so long ago and you’re just having the banquet now?”

“It’s mainly to network and keep in touch,” Director Wang said. “I’m planning to film a sequel. It would be best if everyone can return; if not, we shouldn’t damage the harmony.” He left an address and time, chatted for a few more seconds, and hung up.

The other girl in the dorm seemed to have finished her game. She looked up at Yan Zhen. “Have you been on TV? You look so familiar.” She rubbed her eyes.

Yan Zhen nodded. “I participated in a competition.”

The girl slapped her forehead. “Oh! I remember! You’re Yan Zhen! I even voted for you.”

Yan Zhen smiled. “Thank you.”

“I can’t believe you came to Imperial Capital University. What’s your major?”

“Medicine, but I haven’t decided between Traditional Chinese or Western Medicine yet.”

“Why that major?” the girl asked, confused. “I thought for sure you’d go into Archaeology.”

Yan Zhen was even more confused. “Why Archaeology…?”

“Because during the competition, your knowledge of ancient history was incredible! My dad is a professor in the Sinology department, and even he couldn’t answer some of the things you brought up, yet you could recite them from memory!”

Yan Zhen blushed at the praise. “If you read enough, you can remember it.”

“I’ve been reading since I was a kid and I’m not that capable.” The girl sighed. “By the way, my name is Kuang Ying. I’m a Sinology student. My bed is the one opposite yours.”

“Hello,” Yan Zhen greeted her again. Looking up at Kuang Ying’s face, Yan Zhen noticed she had a healthy complexion, a low bridge on her nose, and fleshy cheeks, but her chin was sharp and small—a typical fate of someone without much guile. However, she seemed troubled by something lately; her career line was an unnaturally murky greyish-black.

Thinking she should bond with her roommate, Yan Zhen asked diplomatically, “What game were you just playing?”

“It’s Honor of Kings, a mobile game. Everyone is playing it, so I joined the fun.”

“Can you make money playing that?”

“Of course.” Kuang Ying opened her Alipay and showed Yan Zhen her income statement. Yan Zhen’s eyes widened as she counted; she roughly estimated it to be tens of thousands.

You can earn money just by playing games? Then why am I working so hard to film movies! She looked at Kuang Ying, thinking this girl was very sharp-witted.

Kuang Ying continued, “It’s game boosting. My skill is average, but helping people reach Diamond rank is no problem. My prices are cheap, so I made quite a bit over the summer.”

“That’s amazing,” Yan Zhen praised. Then she asked, “Have you haven’t been making much money lately, have you?”

Kuang Ying froze. “How did you know?”

“I see horizontal lines across your Renzhong (philtrum); I’m afraid a petty person is blocking your path.” Yan Zhen touched the spot above her upper lip.

Kuang Ying touched it and felt a slight indentation. It wasn’t deep, but it ran across her philtrum, and it felt a bit sore when pressed. Could it really be a petty person?

Reflecting on it, Kuang Ying realized her luck had indeed been bad lately. Every game had teammates who went AFK or fed the enemy. Orders that used to take three days now took a week, and it was more exhausting. She hadn’t thought much of it, but hearing Yan Zhen, she realized someone might be targeting her.

“You can know all that just by looking at the philtrum?” she asked.

“Yes. Everything has laws; your life’s trajectory is naturally reflected on your body.”

Kuang Ying found it hard to believe. She took out her phone, opened the game, and instead of using a client’s account, she switched to her smurf account to see if she had actually gotten worse or if others were “acting.” After one game, she felt her skill was fine. The problem was indeed with the clients’ accounts.

She was angry, but what could she do? Since she took the order, she had to finish it. She logged back into the client’s account to finish the job before hunting down that “petty person.”

Yan Zhen watched Kuang Ying play for a bit and searched for a summary of the game online. She felt it was like an ancient military formation—calculating enemy ambush points and utilizing resources to gain an advantage.

Kuang Ying said, “You can start with Luban No. 7; he’s suitable for beginners.”

Yan Zhen downloaded the game and finished the tutorial. Seeing her start, Kuang Ying said, “Once I get this account to Diamond, I’ll use a client’s account to queue with you.”

“Okay.”

Yan Zhen explored the interface and decided to play a match. To her surprise, when she watched the game, her eyes felt warm. She could perceive the enemy’s movements. Where they went after disappearing from view, what skills they were about to use—she could faintly see the future. The spiritual energy in her body became active; it was a very positive sign.

In her first real match, she played Xiao Qiao. Her opponent was Zhen Ji. Yan Zhen didn’t know Zhen Ji’s skills at first, but every time she felt Zhen Ji was about to release a skill, she retreated. She was never hit. Because she could sense the opponent’s next move, Yan Zhen followed her aggressively, dumping skills on her. She actually solo-killed Zhen Ji three times and even stole a blue buff from the enemy jungler.

The enemy Zhen Ji was fuming. She started typing in the “All” chat.

[All] Zhen Ji: Hacker dog!

[All] Zhen Ji: Report after the game!

Yan Zhen ignored her and killed her again. Zhen Ji stopped leaving the base and just typed.

[All] Zhen Ji: Just wait for the report, let’s see how arrogant you are then.

A passerby asked: [Why are you so sure Xiao Qiao is hacking?]

[All] Zhen Ji: Pah! My main is Diamond. How can a Bronze solo-kill me so many times? My brother is a pro player and even he isn’t this sharp. Impossible!

Zhen Ji recorded the clip to send to her brother for revenge. Meanwhile, Yan Zhen had already pushed through mid-lane to the crystal. Her team converged and won the game.

Kuang Ying, having finished her own game, swore, “Another ‘actor’ teammate, I’m so pissed!” She looked over at Yan Zhen’s screen and saw the giant word “VICTORY,” a sharp contrast to her own “DEFEAT.” Yan Zhen was the MVP.

“Not bad!” Kuang Ying praised. “I’ll switch accounts and carry you!”

They played several ranked matches. The first two were easy, but the third was difficult. Kuang Ying said, “Shoot, the enemy has a smurf. We might lose.”

The enemy Liu Bei was farming very fast; he was level 7 while everyone else was level 5. Yan Zhen asked where he was. “He’s in the jungle farming. If we go now, we can catch him.”

“How do you know?” Kuang Ying asked, skeptical.

“He’s in the brush hitting the blue monster. You go from the top, I’ll flank from the bottom.”

Kuang Ying didn’t believe it but went anyway since the game felt lost. As she approached, Yan Zhen’s Xiao Qiao threw a fan from the brush. Liu Bei was at low health. Yan Zhen chased with her ultimate, and Liu Bei used his shield and speed boost to escape, only to run straight into Kuang Ying’s Zhuge Liang.

Liu Bei died. For the rest of the game, Yan Zhen continuously directed Kuang Ying to catch Liu Bei. The enemy jungler’s momentum was crushed. Thirty minutes later, they won.

Yan Zhen touched her warm phone screen. “I think I more or less know how to play this game now.”

Kuang Ying was speechless. Yan Zhen’s KDA was 13.1, and she was MVP again. A Diamond booster had been carried by a newbie. “Is this really your first time playing?”

“How do you know where they are in the brush?”

“It’s just as you said—” Yan Zhen recalled. “When I see people coming, I just press everything at once.”

Kuang Ying: “…Do you think I’ll believe that?”

It was evening, and the other two roommates hadn’t arrived yet. Kuang Ying suggested going to the canteen. On the way, she pointed out various people to Yan Zhen.

“The couple under the big tree—the guy is the grandson of a high-ranking military official and the girl is a celebrity. He changes girlfriends every three days and even plagiarized a classmate’s work as his own. He’s a total scumbag who thinks he can do anything because he’s rich.”