Chapter 10: Director Lin's Cunning Moves

"Host, you cannot lie!" came the emotionless, mechanical voice.

Director Lin, who had just sat down in front of the monitor, twitched the corner of his mouth, "..."

Had Su Yuqing completely given up?

In the practice room, both Gu Zhan and He Suyan were somewhat amused. Su Yuqing really was a character.

Such blunt honesty was rare in the entertainment industry.

"Where did we leave off yesterday?" Su Yuqing asked, his face unchanged, though inwardly he cursed the system.

"Let's do the positioning. The movements for the three of us are simple, and we should get it down after two tries. With God He and me here, you just need to be a little careful, and you won't make any mistakes," Gu Zhan said.

He and God He could get it down in one go.

"Right, you haven't been on stage before, so you need to be aware of the camera presence..."

He went on and on, while Su Yuqing listened attentively. An idol's awareness of the camera on stage was important.

It could add quite a few points.

Gu Zhan was also breaking his back over this. Last night after going back, his agent showed him the feedback from the fans.

They had some complaints about him teaming up with Su Yuqing, fearing Su Yuqing would hold him back.

If that happened, the netizens and fans would also involve him since God He had already ascended to his pedestal.

He relied on fans for his livelihood and had to be considerate of their feelings.

Although He Suyan also came from a singing and dancing background, there was a fundamental difference between him and Gu Zhan; He Suyan was never focused on that role from the start.

"Alright, that's it for now. Go ahead and try to grasp it on your own," Gu Zhan said with a sigh.

"Let's run through the positioning first."

Director Lin was a real bastard. He gave them just one song, completely bare, and they had to figure out everything themselves.

Their group was still okay, but he guessed the other groups were struggling.

"Bang—"

Gu Zhan, lost in thought, didn't watch his step, and slipped, crashing to the ground sprawling.

He was completely stunned.

"That fall... was quite unique," He Suyan said, holding back a laugh. "Do you need help?"

Seeing his own reflection in the mirror, Gu Zhan's face cracked, "Yes, I can't get up."

He had flipped 180 degrees, with his left hand pinned underneath.

His legs were numb, and the pain in his tailbone twisted his expression.

Su Yuqing and He Suyan exchanged glances, then hurriedly helped him up, "Are you okay?"

"I might have a problem," Gu Zhan gasped, the pain in his arm intense.

Su Yuqing's eyebrows knitted together as he asked Gu Zhan to sit on the floor and gave him a checkup, "It looks like a bone fracture."

"...Can I really be that unlucky?" Gu Zhan felt somewhat pathetic.

The stage performance was tonight.

Although the show had taken a different approach, its popularity and traffic couldn't be denied, and he didn't want to miss a single camera shot.

It could be his chance to make a comeback.

"It looks like you really are that unlucky," He Suyan confirmed after also taking a look.

Gu Zhan...

A moment later, he clenched his teeth, "It's just a fracture? Not a break?"

Su Yuqing's brow arched, "That's still not serious to you? Don't say you want to keep going."

"This opportunity is rare," Gu Zhan forced a smile.

Got it, understood.

"Suit yourself, but it's certainly going to require a cast. If you really want to continue, then you'll have to try not to use this hand later. It's a wrist fracture, so even holding a microphone won't work," Su Yuqing advised. However, the live performance would use headset mics, and as long as he was careful, it shouldn't be too much of a problem.

Gu Zhan's professional capabilities were also well recognized.

He Suyan nodded in agreement.

Gu Zhan let out a sigh of relief—it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to perform on the same stage as God He.

The assistant director frowned, "Should we stop him?"

If this segment was cut, the show's team would definitely be attacked by Gu Zhan's fans.

The losses would outweigh the gains.

"He wants to continue on his own. What does that have to do with me?" Director Lin smiled wickedly, "Let him be."

They were all adults, responsible for their own actions.

Assistant Director: "..." Someday, I really hope to see a look on your face that you can't hide.

"Ring the bell, get everyone to the lobby on the first floor," Director Lin said as he suddenly stood up after checking the schedule.

...Some people hadn't even made it to the practice room yet.

The assistant director mentally lit a candle for everyone.

At the sudden shrill sound of the bell, everyone was startled.

"What's going on?"

"Is there a fire?!"

People rushed out, and those in the elevator were even more confused, their ears assaulted by the piercing bell.

In the hallway, the follow-cam PD faced everyone's murderous glares, gulped, and said, "Everyone, assemble in the lobby on the first floor."

"What is Director Lin up to now?"

"There goes my practice time, and I was racing against the clock."

"Speaking of our practice room… Really, whether you practice or not, it's all the same," a seasoned minor-role actor in the entertainment industry said with a twitch of his forehead.

"What was the distraction you had inside?"

"Square dancing aunties!"

"..."

"Taking turns, non-stop, blasting their speakers and dancing."

"..."

Everyone cast sympathetic glances their way.

[Hahaha, I can already picture it in my mind.]

[Help, I really want to see the practice room part. Director, we request a livestream.]

[Adding to the one above!]

[Add 10086…]

[My God He's looks are truly unparalleled, okay!]

[God He! Please give me a chance to wrap my legs around your shoulders!]

[Sister above, you're bold!]

[The above commenter, you can't drink at the kids' table.]

At the lobby on the first floor, all thirty-one artists arrived. Su Yuqing accurately noticed Jiang Chenan sending her a dark look. She calmly met his gaze, then coolly withdrew her own.

As for Su Chengxi, ignore.

The original thirty-one seats here were spaced apart a bit more, and each had a small table placed in front of it.

"Director, what now?" Xi Yanhong asked Director Lin with dissatisfaction.

"Today's live broadcast segment," Director Lin said with a smile.

Everyone felt there was something malicious about it, and sure enough, his next words struck them like lightning.

"For the next two hours, a written test covering literature, entertainment, general knowledge, law, mathematics, technology, etc. The rankings and test papers will be published online immediately."

Everyone: "???!!!"

This feels like taking a civil service exam, doesn't it?

Su Yuqing couldn't help but twitch her mouth—this sudden move was wickedly clever!

With this test, over eighty percent of the people were bound to flunk.

Gu Zhan looked as if he had lost his soul, suddenly feeling like he wanted to withdraw from the competition due to an 'injury.'

"Oh! Director, you can't do this!"

"Director, you never said anything about this before; we weren't mentally prepared."

Xie Shiyun's roguish face twitched for a moment, "It's not in the contract."

Director Lin waited for everyone to have their say before responding, "The contract states that I set all the rules for the show."

"..."

It was a done deal, and the scene was filled with wails of despair.

[Wow, Director Lin is the real deal!]

[Only he could think of such a damaging stunt. I salute Director Lin, the god of crafty moves!]

[...]

[TBH, this exam might just expose many people's carefully maintained image as academic elites, haha.]

[There are so many pretenders in the entertainment industry, I'm suddenly looking forward to the results.]

[Wouldn't Su Yuqing be the first to bear the brunt? After all, her middle school grades were faked, and she was at the bottom of her high school class.]

[Got my small stool ready.]