After Transmigrating into the Role of the Villain Forced to Pamper the Heroine of an Angsty Novel - Chapter 28

It was unclear whether there was an issue with the set or a malfunction with the audio, but more and more staff members were swarming the stage with no sign of the recording starting anytime soon.

Most of the audience members sitting below were movie fans, stans, or professional extras hired by Penguin TV for the year; they had long since become immune to these kinds of hiccups.

Meng Qiuran was getting a bit irritable. “This is taking forever. Don’t they check these things beforehand?”

Yuan Yi comforted her, “There might have been a last-minute adjustment, so things are a bit rushed.”

After a while, Xiang Jing’s conspicuous ash-grey hair appeared on stage. The director whispered an explanation in her ear, looking quite tense. Whether it was Xiang Jing’s timely arrival or her ability to pinpoint the key issue, the malfunction was resolved shortly after.

Everyone wiped away a silent bead of sweat, and the makeup artists rushed to touch up the mentors’ looks one last time.

As Xiang Jing stepped off the stage, she scanned the surroundings. She paused when she saw Meng Qiuran sitting there. She likely hadn’t expected this young socialite to be willing to wait after such a long delay. She stood below the stage with her arms crossed, watching the opening for a bit; everything seemed normal. She beckoned a nearby staff member, whispered a few instructions, and then left.

The show’s opening sequence and the sample ad clips for the middle segments were mostly finished. A few behind-the-scenes snippets would be added during post-production before the official release. However, since Meng Qiuran was present, showing a trial broadcast today was a good move. This was the first time the Meng family was advertising on a Penguin TV variety show. Although the siblings invested separately, if Meng Qiuran was satisfied, Meng Xiayan naturally wouldn’t have many complaints.

Xiang Jing wanted the show to be high quality, but she also wanted the “Gold Masters” to be happy so that future collaborations would be possible.

There were 12 contestants in total, split evenly between men and women. Gu Ruolan was a special guest mentor, while there were six permanent mentors—essentially a 1-to-2 ratio, which was a very high standard. Furthermore, while there were many competitions in this variety show, there were no early elimination rounds. The rankings from the previous round only determined the order for choosing partners and scripts for the next. The final rankings would only be decided in the last episode’s performance. This meant early rankings wouldn’t affect the final result, but the effort and performance in every round would be seen.

This was an excellent mechanism for both mentors and contestants. Contestants had more opportunities to showcase themselves and receive targeted guidance from seniors, while mentors didn’t have to stress over who to eliminate each week, allowing them to focus on coaching and uncovering newcomer potential.

Gu Ruolan knew from the contestant list that both Yu Yimeng and Xie Zixuan would be participating, along with several other familiar newcomers. The Starlight is Like You would have been an opportunity for Yu Yimeng to perform well; though it wouldn’t have reached the brilliance of Gu Ruolan’s own stunning debut, it certainly would have left a unique impression. Unfortunately, that film was aborted, and Yu Yimeng lost her first chance at a formal big-screen debut.

The camera panned from left to right as the host introduced the mentors one by one. To viewers even slightly familiar with the film industry, these names were household words. However, to accommodate more casual viewers, the production team thoughtfully included the mentors’ representative works and achievements.

Individually, they were all powerhouse figures worthy of admiration, but when it came to Gu Ruolan—even setting aside her young age and long list of awards—the title of Silver Glow Movie Queen alone was enough to seize the spotlight of the entire room. She had told Xiang Jing beforehand not to overemphasize these things. She didn’t want to be compared horizontally with other mentors, so the host’s speed and tone didn’t change noticeably when introducing her.

Meng Qiuran watched the scrolling record of awards on the screen—a long, long list. Gu Ruolan was indeed the person closest to achieving the Grand Slam. She felt somewhat relieved; luckily the “heroine” was Gu Ruolan. If it were Su Yunzi or the unreliable Xu Anying, the mission would likely never be completed.

Yuan Yi had long since memorized these awards, yet every time she saw them, she felt a profound sense of happiness and pride for her idol. She sighed, “She really is amazing. To have won so many awards at 27… how can such a perfect person exist?!”

Meng Qiuran glanced at her. She had wanted to tell her not to be such a fangirl, but seeing Yuan Yi’s look of pure devotion, she couldn’t say it. She had always felt that celebrity chasing was impractical because the halo of a star never reached ordinary fans; stars usually didn’t even know what their fans had sacrificed. Her investment philosophy was always that effort must yield a return; any project with too low an ROI was simply not worth doing.

If not for her mission, she and a pure fangirl like Yuan Yi would have nothing to talk about. But she had also discovered that Yuan Yi was different from the “crazy fans” in her mind. She was dedicated, only liking Gu Ruolan, familiar with everything about her yet never using it to brag. She watched her silently and did her best to resolve troubles when Gu Ruolan encountered them, never hesitating even if she couldn’t help much. Moreover, she never expected anything in return—a single autograph had kept her happy for a long time.

While she couldn’t fully understand Yuan Yi’s fervor, Meng Qiuran had begun to respect her choice, no longer looking down on fans as she had in the past. Sometimes, when encountering news she wasn’t familiar with, she even wanted to hear Yuan Yi’s opinion.

Yuan Yi noticed her boss looking at her and turned with a sweet smile. “Don’t you agree?”

Meng Qiuran remained expressionless. “Agree with what?”

“She’s perfect, right?”

Meng Qiuran took a breath. She couldn’t bring herself to say something so cheesy, but she couldn’t deny Gu Ruolan’s impressive track record. “She’s alright.”

After recording the mentor introductions, there was a ten-minute break. The time was short, so the mentors stayed in their seats rather than moving around. Gu Ruolan looked down at the contestant list when Su Yunzi suddenly leaned over.

“Meng Qiuran is quite supportive, isn’t she?”

When Gu Ruolan heard that name, the motion of her flipping the page paused ever so slightly. It was unclear if Su Yunzi noticed, but she teased, “Looks like she plans to sit there until the recording ends.”

“And she seems to be looking toward you the whole time.”

Gu Ruolan set the list aside, her expression calm. “She invested in the ads and took the title sponsorship; it’s normal for her to care about the production quality.” Before Su Yunzi could list more evidence, she added pointedly, “Her sitting there doesn’t mean she’s only looking at me.”

That was true. Meng Qiuran could be looking at Gu Ruolan, but it didn’t prove she was only looking at her. Su Yunzi stunned for a moment, then laughed to hide her awkwardness. “True. She’s also looking at that sweet little cutie next to her.”

Gu Ruolan didn’t intentionally turn to look, but as she put the list back on the table, she stole a glance. Sweet little cutie? Well, that girl did have a very sweet smile.

Next was the contestants’ entrance, arranged alphabetically. Each person had three minutes for their self-introduction. This was the broadcast length; for the actual recording, they needed more footage for editing, so the actual time was about 5–8 minutes. One round would take at least over an hour.

Yuan Yi had been to recording sets before, but today she clearly felt the production team’s seriousness and rigor. “I think the reputation of this show will be great once it airs.”

Meng Qiuran’s professional habit was to seek maximum value. Originally, she had come to this variety show for Gu Ruolan, but now she saw other value. Perhaps she could scout a few supporting actors; that would make Gu Ruolan’s path to the Best Actress award even smoother. Thus, her boredom vanished, and she began to pay attention to the “newcomers” on stage.

She remembered Yu Yimeng and Xie Zixuan, and two other boys she might have seen on TV. But for most of the contestants, she had no impression, and she realized she really couldn’t remember their faces well. She decided to leave this to Yuan Yi.

She hooked her finger at Yuan Yi, signaling her to lean in, and whispered into her ear, “Go back and write an analysis report. Tell me which of these contestants are suitable to act alongside Gu Ruolan, and include your reasons.”

The smile on Yuan Yi’s face froze. The joy of being able to approach her idol at the end of the recording solidified into dread. Her head felt huge. “Writing a report just for a variety show?” she asked in disbelief.

“Why else would I throw so much money at this? Do you really think money grows on trees?”

Yuan Yi nodded. “I actually did think that.”

Meng Qiuran raised her hand to flick her forehead, but remembering people were around, she shifted to touching her own nose. “Just get it done soon. I’m in a hurry to read it.”

Yuan Yi muttered an “Okay” as the director’s voice of thanks rang out from the stage. Today’s recording was basically over. But not entirely, as the director said, “The ad samples are out. Let’s take a look at the results.”

Immediately, the show’s opening appeared on the big screen with a clear female voiceover: “Welcome to ‘Light of Stars,’ sponsored by Guitu Investment Co., Ltd. Let’s find the shining stars of the future together.”

When Gu Ruolan saw the characters for Guitu (规途 – Path of Rules) embedded in the lower-right corner, her first thought was of the homophone Guitu (归途 – Path Home). She treated it as a simple association and didn’t think much further. But since this was Meng Qiuran’s company, she finally looked toward the side of the stage “legitimately.”

This time, Meng Qiuran wasn’t laughing with the “sweet cutie” next to her. She was tilting her head slightly, looking at the big screen. However, the expression on her face was different from the other sponsors inspecting the results. Gu Ruolan wasn’t sure at first, thinking she had misread it. But after looking a few more times, she was certain that the expression on Meng Qiuran’s face was one of longing.

She seemed to be hoping for something through that advertisement, carrying a faint yearning, yet also showing a trace of loss and helplessness that stirred compassion. Gu Ruolan sorted through this series of expressions and concluded: she looked like a lost child, desperate to go home but unable to find the way.

Gu Ruolan had played this emotion before; it took a lot of study to reach the level Meng Qiuran just displayed. She didn’t think Meng Qiuran was acting—that was a genuine revelation of feeling. But where does she want to go back to?

The names of other sponsors began to pop up. The Meng Group. Gu Ruolan understood. Meng Qiuran likely wanted to return to the Meng Group; it was said she had been “kicked out” by Meng Xiayan. But her current company seemed to be doing well; otherwise, she wouldn’t spend so much on ads. Perhaps it was to prove herself—she had heard of Miss Meng’s temper; pride was worth far more than money.

The ads were short, and today’s work was officially over. The mentors, having sat for a long time, stood up to stretch. Gu Ruolan was still immersed in her thoughts. Su Yunzi, standing next to her, was already removing her mic and noticed her sitting still. “Ruolan, we’re done.”

Gu Ruolan snapped out of it, realizing she had actually spaced out thinking about Meng Qiuran. Xiao Yan came over to help her remove the headset and mic when a voice suddenly came from behind her.

“Miss Gu.”

Gu Ruolan turned to see Meng Qiuran standing a few steps away with a faint smile, the “sweet cutie” by her side. The girl looked much more stiff than Meng Qiuran; the way she wanted to look but didn’t dare made Gu Ruolan feel a bit awkward as well.

Meng Qiuran waited for Xiao Yan to finish removing the equipment before walking over. “I brought your die-hard fan.” She turned to let Yuan Yi come closer. “Yuan Yi, come say hello to your idol.”

Yuan Yi. So it’s her.

Gu Ruolan remembered the name; Meng Qiuran had asked for an autograph for her during the first set visit. But she also remembered Meng Qiuran saying how Yuan Yi had proactively defended her against anti-fans online.

Yuan Yi mustered her courage, walked up to Gu Ruolan, and gave a very polite bow. “Hello, Teacher Gu.”

Meng Qiuran: ???

Gu Ruolan saw the girl’s ears turn bright red and saw her nervously fidgeting with her clothes. Her heart softened, and she gave a proactive smile. This smile held a touch of warmth and intentional comfort, far more vivid than her interactions on stage or with colleagues.

Not only was Yuan Yi dazed, but even Meng Qiuran’s hand hooked slightly in her pocket.

“Hello, Yuan Yi. I am honored to have your support. Thank you.”

It was just like the autograph from last time. She remembered everything. Yuan Yi was moved to the point of tears.

Meng Qiuran hissed a low warning, “Don’t cry. I don’t have any more tissues to wipe your face if the makeup runs.”

Yuan Yi gave a soft sniffle; she didn’t actually cry. Meng Qiuran looked at Gu Ruolan and, seeing that she wasn’t particularly good at handling this either, had to urge Yuan Yi: “Hurry up and talk to your idol.”

Yuan Yi finally woke up, wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, and transformed from a “sweet cutie” into a total fangirl.