Chapter 33
Note: Apologies for the delay. I got sick T_T
"Cheer Up, Idol" is a large-scale male idol talent show developed by Maowei Video Company. They had bought copyrights from abroad and had selected ninety-nine contestants nationwide through an open audition, eventually forming a group of the top ten trainees based on both online and offline audience voting.
The 99 selected trainees came from twenty-six entertainment agencies, with four being independent who had not signed with any company. Among them, Gu Ningyan and a young man named Mu Xiuyuan, who just spoke, were both part of a duo sent by Bluebird Entertainment.
After the previous leveling evaluation, Gu Ningyan, who was at level B, and Mu Xiuyuan, who was at level D, were assigned to the same dormitory. Each dormitory housed four people. Theirs was the last one so, based on the original count, there should have been one space left.
There were no cameras following them in the dormitory yet, and their other dorm-mate from a different company was not around. Mu Xiuyuan took the opportunity to speak more freely, "Brother Yan, all the four most competitive contestants from Shengyue have already entered top companies, but then they parachuted in when the evaluation was already over, this…"
He didn't voice out the latter half of the sentence, hinting at their possibly having some sort of unfair advantage. Out of fear for eavesdroppers, he didn't finish his sentence. However, he couldn't help but think such thoughts.
"Be careful with your words," Gu Ningyan warned, shaking his head slightly.
Both he and Mu Xiuyuan were from a small company and hence, their influence was minimal. They could only bear the unfairness silently, understanding that it's best to keep certain things to themselves even if it seemed unfair.
Moreover, unlike the young Mu Xiuyuan, Gu Ningyan was already twenty-six years old. He had made his debut as an actor five years ago, but never gained popularity. This comeback on the show could be considered his last chance, and he definitely had to grasp it tightly!
Gu Ningyan desired success, not for the so-called dream, but for other unavoidable reasons.
With the addition of the parachuted contestant, there were a hundred people in total. Among them were many strong competitors, so if Gu Ningyan wanted to stand out, he had to work harder than the others.
As they were lost in thought, suddenly there was a knock on the dormitory door.
"Come in!" Mu Xiuyuan reacted first.
Unexpectedly, it wasn't the show staff they thought would enter, but instead, they saw a pure black suitcase first.
It was him, the newcomer — the hundredth trainee, Ling Rong.
"Hello, I am Ling Rong from Shengyue Entertainment," the clear young voice rang out. The young man wearing a white duckbill cap appeared in front of the two and lifted his head with a friendly greeting.
In just a few seconds, both the extroverted and lively Mu Xiuyuan and the introverted and calm Gu Ningyan were stunned.
It was simply because the person in front of them was too astonishing.
As they were daydreaming, Gu Ningyan suddenly seemed to understand why Shengyue Entertainment was willing to go through the back door and spend so much money to bring this person here. With such a face, he was born to walk the flowery path and be the center of attention.
For some reason, the blockage in Gu Ningyan's heart seemed to suddenly disappear. Although he thought he was also good-looking, this young man's beauty went beyond gender, more in line with the aesthetic taste of the current market. Gu Ningyan even had a premonition that even if this person didn't have any skills, just smiling in front of the camera would make countless people wish to debut him directly.
"Hello, I... I'm Mu Xiuyuan from Bluebird Entertainment. This is my elder brother, Gu Ningyan from Bluebird Entertainment. Are... Are you sure you didn't get the wrong group?" His words implied that perhaps Ling Rong had gone to the wrong place and should actually be in the girl group next door.
"Xiuyuan!" Gu Ningyan softly chided, irritated at his straight-shooter younger brother's bluntness. No man would take kindly to being said to look like a girl. If this person named Ling Rong was a sensitive one, he might harbor a grudge and sabotage them in the future.
Of course, Gu Ningyan hoped he was over-thinking.
"No, I didn't go to the wrong place. This is dormitory 605 for 'Cheer Up, Idol', isn't it? I look forward to learning from you in the future." Ling Rong didn't take offense but instead smiled to soothe the suddenly anxious boy.
"Please teach me a lot!" Mu Xiuyuan nodded and bowed.
Gu Ningyan was calmer. His five years of experience in the entertainment industry made him better at managing his emotions. He extended his hand politely to Ling Rong. Gu Ningyan's thin lips curved into a just-right arc, "I am Gu Ningyan, I look forward to working with you."
Looking at the man's distinctly chiseled features, Ling Rong's attractive eyes bent almost imperceptibly and without any hesitation, she shook his hand firmly.
I've found you.
"You're in Class B? That's impressive." Ling Rong chatted with Gu Ningyan as she put her suitcase away.
Before she came, she had a basic understanding of the rules of the show. All trainees would undergo a grading evaluation by the mentors before moving into the dormitory. The grades were divided into A, B, C, D, and F, ranked from high to low, corresponding to the rainbow colors of red, orange, yellow, green, and cyan class uniform respectively. Hence, Gu Ningyan, who was rated as B-level, wore an orange-colored uniform, while Mu Xiuyuan, who was D-level, had a green one.
As for her cyan-colored uniform... it corresponded to the lowest F-level. But she had parachuted in without participating in the grading evaluation. Although she had Shengyue backing her, receiving an F could also be considered fair.
Ling Rong didn't really care about these minor details. After all, there would be plenty of opportunities to improve her standing in the future. Her goal this time was to debut beside this man, both donning the bright red-colored uniform.
"As long as you work hard, there will always be an opportunity to rise," Gu Ningyan said to Ling Rong, which felt more like a reminder to himself.
"Definitely." And I will personally make sure that you reach the highest position.
While tidying up her luggage, Ling Rong finally found a gap to chat with her system: "Is he so desperate to climb up in the entertainment industry because he wants to clear his father's name?"
"Yes, host. That's indeed the explanation given in the book."
Unlike Qin Zhongyang from the previous world who was born with a silver spoon, Gu Ningyan in this world was just a common child. His father was a talented yet unsuccessful writer who had been floating in the Imperial Capital for many years, living in an old house with Mother Gu after their marriage.
Unable to gain recognition for his works and to earn money from it, Father Gu had to make ends meet by writing for others. He was then introduced to join the writing team of a well-known screenwriter. When the screenwriter couldn't come up with something, this team of writers produced various scripts, which only had the screenwriter's name on it when finally presented on the big screen.
These group of people were also known as 'ghostwriters.'
Father Gu was among these ghostwriters who served a famous director named Chen Haotian. Five years ago, Chen Haotian was simply a little-known screenwriter. One day, his works became unexpectedly popular, and his fame rose dramatically. In less than half a year, Father Gu became one of his ghostwriters.
Ling Rong, glancing through the original plot, knew that Chen Haotian was the supporting character in the book who suddenly gained a cheat-like ability (gold finger). Chen Haotian was actually a time-traveler from another parallel space, also called Huaguo. After traversing to this world, he found that it didn't have any famous works from his previous world that had been adapted into TV dramas. Thinking that he could make a name for himself in this world, the Chen Haotian, who was still a talentless small screenwriter, plagiarized these works.
However, stolen works were always stolen, and Chen Haotian, having plagiarized all the memorable works, could no longer write anything of the same level with his ability. Hence, he devised a method—finding ghostwriters.
Such practices were not uncommon in the screenwriters circle. As long as it brought benefits, the company would usually turn a blind eye. Driven by his need to survive and his pride, Father Gu was not willing to continue this way. After Chen Haotian rushed him for a script, Father Gu demanded the right to have his name credited in the screenwriters column. Unfortunately, this request was categorically refused by Chen Haotian.
In anger, Father Gu left Chen Haotian's ghostwriter team quickly. Worried about losing everything, Chen Haotian, afraid that Father Gu would spread the word about him, decided to act preemptively. He made a false charge of plagiarism against Father Gu, tarnishing his reputation so he could never gain trust in the writing circle, and therefore, nobody would believe him.
However, plagiarism is the most critical thing an author could be accused of. Father Gu could not convince others of his innocence. Chen Haotian's team set up the narrative that Father Gu plagiarized Chen Haotian's work, which became an accepted truth. Once the matter fermented on the internet, Father Gu was trolled by netizens.
Combined with the hardships of life and cyberbullying, Father Gu frail mindset quickly collapsed. During an outing, he walked into the middle of the road in a daze and was killed by a passing car on the spot.
At that time, Gu Ningyan, who was about to graduate from university and finally ready to support his family, lost his father instantly. After learning about his father's experiences, Gu Ningyan harbored deep resentment towards Chen Haotian, the man indirectly responsible for his father's death. Even though he wanted to seek justice through legal means, he knew it was futile given Chen Haotian's current status and was forced to swallow his anger and choose another method.
Chen Haotian was a popular screenwriter with many fans who protected him from any criticism. Gu Ningyan decided to enter the entertainment industry and become an influential figure with enough resources to repay Chen Haotian for the defamation done to his father.
However, Chen Haotian's 'lucky charm' overshadowed Gu Ningyan's potential. After struggling for five years, Gu Ningyan finally got a breakthrough in his career on a show called "Cheer Up, Idol." That was when Chen Haotian noticed him. The sensitive surname 'Gu' caused Chen Haotian to conduct background checks on Gu Ningyan. Fearful of potential retaliation from Gu Ningyan once his career took off, Chen Haotian decided to act first once again by using bots and public opinion to turn the internet against Gu Ningyan.
Fearful of any backlash, Chen Haotian went even further — he invited Gu Ningyan to appear on a survival reality show, for which Chen Haotian was the screenwriter. Eventually, he manipulated the production team and nature's advantage to cause Gu Ningyan's death by a wild tiger's bite.
Gu Ningyan wasn't a significant figure. His death caused only a minor disturbance to the program, and nobody suspected foul play. The production team compensated Mother Gu financially, but she had lost both her son and husband forever.
And all this was irrevocably linked to the time-traveler, Chen Haotian.
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