After Transmigrating into the Role of the Villain Forced to Pamper the Heroine of an Angsty Novel - Chapter 31

Gu Ruolan intentionally avoided looking in that direction. Before the contestants officially took the stage, she either looked at the big screen or stared straight ahead.

This meant she inevitably had to face the row of sponsors.

Xie Yuzong sat in the middle, flanked by Xiang Jing on one side and Vice President Liu from the Meng Group on the other. Xiang Jing whispered to him from time to time; she was clearly working hard on her sales pitch.

Although VP Liu represented the Meng Group, Xie Yuzong looked down on him entirely. Aside from initial pleasantries, he hadn’t bothered to acknowledge him since. Consequently, Liu could only talk to Xing Qu on his other side, but Xing Qu’s attention was mostly on Meng Qiuran’s area. Even when listening to VP Liu, his eyes would frequently wander toward the side of the stage.

Gu Ruolan’s seat was directly across from Xing Qu. She wanted to shift her attention, but seeing Xing Qu’s gaze felt like a constant reminder of who was sitting over there.

While in makeup, she had accidentally overheard staff gossiping that Miss Meng often came over with young Master Xing, and she had assumed they would sit together. Xing Qu had been at the previous dinner, but his presence was far less noticeable than Meng Xiayan’s or Xie Yuzong’s. Recalling it now, he had been quite supportive of Meng Qiuran at the time.

The music started. When the host announced the names of Xie Zixuan and Yu Yimeng, Gu Ruolan’s heart skipped a beat. She felt her frequency of spacing out today was a bit high and shook her head slightly, dissatisfied with her own state.

Su Yunzi turned to her. “What, you’re dissatisfied before they’ve even started acting?”

Gu Ruolan said flatly, “You are also a mentor. Your attention should be on the contestants.”

This time, Su Yunzi wasn’t annoyed. She looked like she had just acquired a secret weapon, basking in the joy of an early victory. Since Gu Ruolan was turned toward her, her expression was mostly blocked, so Meng Qiuran couldn’t see it.

Meng Qiuran asked Yuan Yi curiously, “Are those two on good terms?”

“Not at all.” Yuan Yi thought of the scenes where she and Lu Xinyi cheered for their respective idols and found it a bit funny.

“Then why are they chatting so much?”

“It’s called ‘creating material’ for the edit.”

Meng Qiuran looked at her, and Yuan Yi understood she was waiting for an explanation.

“The program team always needs to find talking points, so the camera will definitely film high-heat artists more. This isn’t a sports meet; who watches a variety show just for the competition?”

“Are they pretending to be close to cooperate with the production team?”

“Not exactly pretending. They just have a lot of competition; it’s not like they’re enemies. There’s no need to give each other the cold shoulder.” Yuan Yi thought for a bit and found a more accurate description: “It’s like the relationship I had with other colleagues in Group One back at the Meng Group.”

The prompt Yu Yimeng and Xie Zixuan drew was a scene of “reunion after a long separation,” with one day of advance rehearsal. Their characters were close friends and besties from middle school through high school. They had a falling out due to a misunderstanding before the university entrance exams, and the promise to attend the same university fell through. They hadn’t contacted each other since, yet both had inquired about the other through mutual classmates, knowing where the other went to school and worked. Today, both were back in their hometown for a high school reunion, but this accidental encounter on the street happened earlier than the reunion—something neither expected.

The script didn’t have many lines, but it demanded high emotional expression. What couldn’t be said with words had to be conveyed through body language, eyes, and facial expressions.

Xie Zixuan played the character who discovers the other first. At the time, she was irritably replying to work messages on her phone. She looked up to see her former best friend no more than two meters away. She froze instantly, staring intently at the other person with eyes full of excitement. Her lips trembled, yet she couldn’t call out the other’s name.

Sensing a gaze, Yu Yimeng’s character turned her head. After a moment of bewilderment, she was equally shocked. Both remained frozen in place, hesitating. It was someone they recognized at a glance, yet neither was the first to speak.

Xie Zixuan pursed her lips tightly, her eyes reddening as if tears were about to burst forth. Gu Ruolan looked down and wrote something in her notebook.

Yu Yimeng showed a flash of surprise, which she quickly masked with other expressions. She showed a similar emotion, but it was more restrained than Xie Zixuan’s. She merely pursed her lips, showing no sign of crying. Gu Ruolan’s pen continued to slide across the page, but her eyes remained focused on every move of the two contestants. Her face was expressionless, making it impossible to judge her opinion. Whether she was satisfied or not wasn’t obvious; one only knew she was watching and recording very seriously.

The camera panned across the mentors’ faces, lingering on Gu Ruolan’s for a bit longer. Likely because she was a special guest appearing only in the first and last episodes, it was natural to give her more screen time. It was also possible that because her acting skills were consistently outstanding, her critiques carried more weight.

Xiang Jing whispered to Xie Yuzong: “The one in the light blue shirt is Xie Zixuan, a newcomer Yunxiang Company is currently pushing. They plan to have her take over Xu Anying’s mantle and start taking second lead roles.”

Xie Yuzong glanced at the stage and gave a slight nod.

“Yunxiang plans to collaborate with the station on two ancient idol dramas, both adapted from web novels with great data. They come with a built-in fanbase.” Xiang Jing invited the sponsors today partly to discuss other collaborations.

Xie Yuzong glanced again at the performance. “Don’t come to me for these small-time web dramas.” Xiang Jing paused as he said dismissively: “I have no interest in investing in this kind of actor.”

Xiang Jing wasn’t surprised; it was normal for the eldest Master Xie to look down on “starlets.” She didn’t know about the incident at Qidu Mansion, so she didn’t know that when Xie Zixuan was flitting around like a social butterfly that night, Xie had already categorized her as “tacky.”

On stage, Xie Zixuan slowly walked toward Yu Yimeng, even stumbling twice. She reached out a trembling hand and finally mustered the courage to call the other’s name. “Mengmeng, long time no see.”

As soon as she spoke, Su Yunzi and Qiuhetao both frowned almost simultaneously. Gu Ruolan’s notes increased noticeably, though her face remained unchanged.

Yuan Yi rubbed her arms. “Too cheesy. Anyone who didn’t know better would think they’re acting out a ten-year tragic separation.”

Meng Qiuran also felt it was cringe-worthy, but many idol dramas were at this level nowadays.

Yu Yimeng was initially quite steady and her emotions were well-controlled. However, whether it was due to nerves or being led astray by Xie Zixuan, she also began to take the “outwardly expressive” route. She stepped forward quickly to meet Xie Zixuan, her eyes also turning red. When she spoke, the sob was obvious. A simple one-sentence response was broken by her into single-word staccato.

Seated on the other side of Qiuhetao was the former “TV Queen,” Xu Feng. Though she had reduced her output in recent years, her skill remained. She had always been happy to mentor newcomers, and now she adjusted her posture as well.

Xie Zixuan and Yu Yimeng began to reminisce. This was the part with the most dialogue, but the effect through the microphone was that the breathing was too heavy, and the lines were delivered stiffly, disconnected from their facial expressions. They were clearly both stealing glances at the mentors’ reactions and were being affected by them.

After the reminiscence, the surprise of the reunion faded, and the old awkwardness became clear again. Both hesitated to speak; neither proactively mentioned the misunderstanding. This hesitation was a key point of the performance—and a difficult one.

Xie Zixuan’s way of expressing it was to stutter, start a sentence and stop, then shake her head with a conflicted expression before swallowing the words. Yu Yimeng looked at her tensely, waiting for her to speak first so she could follow. When the other chose silence, she looked crestfallen but didn’t want the disappointment to be too obvious, so she had to hide her eyes.

Su Yunzi turned to signal to Qiuhetao that this part was handled okay. She then turned to Gu Ruolan, finding her expression the same as when they started—so serious that one didn’t dare disturb her. The script copy on her desk was now covered in dense notes.

“You really wrote that much?” Su Yunzi remarked. At a glance, she thought it was a script Gu Ruolan was preparing to perform herself.

Xie Zixuan and Yu Yimeng’s final farewell froze on the moment they agreed to meet at the high school reunion, though their words carried a distinct distance and forced politeness.

The performance ended. The host walked on stage and handed tissues to the two contestants. “Thank you both for your wonderful performance. That reunion was truly moving; it instantly made me think of many stories of my own.” The host gave them a standard smile then turned to the mentors. “Mentors, please give your critiques.”

The older mentors focused mainly on encouragement, mentioning a few issues with exaggerated expressions, while leaving the detailed critique to Su Yunzi and the others. Since it was two female contestants, Qiuhetao gentlemanly indicated it was more appropriate for Su Yunzi and Gu Ruolan to critique.

Su Yunzi adjusted her desk mic and smiled kindly. “Your performance today gave me quite a surprise. Reunion scenes are actually hard to act; they require high emotional control, but you both performed well.”

Xie Zixuan and Yu Yimeng bowed simultaneously. “Thank you, Teacher, for your affirmation.”

“However, when delivering your lines, you need to pay attention to your breath and the frequency of your articulation. Let the emotion fuse with the lines instead of just mechanical recitation. That way, you can better drive the audience’s emotions.” She glanced at Xie Zixuan, wanting to focus on her. On second thought, she felt there was no need to offend Yunxiang Company, especially since this was only the first round.

Meng Qiuran shook her head in disappointment. “They call those ‘minor issues’? No wonder the audience’s eyes are hurting. The standards for actors are too low nowadays.” In her opinion, Xie Zixuan had acted only slightly better than a robot.

When the host turned the spotlight to Gu Ruolan, everyone was waiting to see how she would evaluate today’s performance. Gu Ruolan looked over her notes, her expression still serious. Compared to Su Yunzi’s “fair weather,” she was “autumn frost.”

“First, thank you for your performance today. You’ve worked hard.” Gu Ruolan’s voice was clear and elegant; even though her tone was flat, it was pleasing to the ear.

Everyone assumed she would say something similar to the other mentors, but she suddenly changed direction and said plainly: “However, I am quite dissatisfied with your performance just now.”

As soon as the words “quite dissatisfied” were spoken, a gasp went through the audience. Not just Su Yunzi, but even Xu Feng in the distance looked toward her.

Meng Qiuran’s eyes lit up, however; she looked interested. Yuan Yi was worried. “She’s going to tell the truth again.”

Meng Qiuran was confused. “Is telling the truth bad? Were you satisfied with that?” Except for someone with a fan filter, she believed no ordinary viewer could call that performance “good.”

“Of course I support her, but nowadays telling the truth is an invitation for attacks, and she has no one to back her up.” Yuan Yi was full of worry for her idol, though she clearly wanted to support her as well.

On stage, Gu Ruolan began to pick apart the details using her notes. “Aside from the issues with expressions and lines mentioned earlier, I believe your biggest problem is a deviation in your understanding of the plot, which led to a misalignment of emotions.”

It was an abstract concept, so she gave an example: “Xie Zixuan, when you first saw her, you shouldn’t have shown shock and excitement so quickly. Because she has been gone from your life for a long time, you need a process of awakening memory. One moment you’re immersed in the irritability of daily work, and the next you see someone special who only existed in your memory—it should actually be a moment of bewilderment, a blankness in the brain.”

Gu Ruolan gestured with her finger. “You are missing the transition periods for every major emotional shift, making it look abrupt and stiff.”

She then turned to Yu Yimeng. “Yu Yimeng, you actually controlled things quite well at the start, but your problem is that you are too easily influenced by your partner. You passively accepted her performance and lost your own rhythm, so it ended up with you cooperating with her acting and forgetting your own character.”

Meng Qiuran had felt the acting was bad but couldn’t say exactly why. Once Gu Ruolan pointed it out, it was instantly clear. Gu Ruolan was like a comb that hit the exact itch; she resolved the discomfort Meng Qiuran had felt. Xie Zixuan really was theatrical with every shift, and her body language was exaggerated. Yu Yimeng grew more passive as the scene went on, changing from a “bestie” into a “twin.”

She couldn’t help but praise her to Yuan Yi: “The Movie Queen really has some skill; she found the key in just a few words. It looked so awkward to me before, but now I feel much better.”

Yuan Yi’s face was filled with pride. “Of course. Look at who’s doing the critiquing.”

The camera cut back and forth between the contestants and Gu Ruolan. Everyone sensed a trending topic was about to emerge.

Su Yunzi: “I just said it was good, and then you said you’re dissatisfied. You’re slapping my face.”

Gu Ruolan: “I am just giving an objective critique.”

Meng Qiuran: “The Movie Queen (my wife) is right. Top-tier.”