Chapter 19 (1)

     It’s better to keep a low profile when returning to the company, so Shi Xi specially wore a wig and a mask.

     I have to say that the director of the escape room variety show is quite thoughtful. Shi Xi really needs this wig.

     At around nine o’clock in the morning, Shi Xi arrived at the first floor of the company. There were not many people in the elevator hall. A young girl carrying coffee carefully glanced at Shi Xi several times.

     After a while, the little girl finally mustered up her courage and asked softly, “Excuse me…are you Xiaoshi?”

     Shi Xi looked at her: “It is me, you can recognize me?”

     The little girl’s cheeks were slightly red, and her tone was a little excited: “It may be hard to recognize others wearing masks, but you are Xiaoshi. Your signature look is the mask, teardrops, and shovel! Although you didn’t hold the shovel today, I still recognized you!”

     Shi Xi wanted to smile at the little girl, but she couldn’t. She could only wink in a friendly way and made a joke: “You are not allowed to bring a shovel to work here.” 

     The little girl was amused by her, took out a notebook and a pen from her bag, and looked at her expectantly: “I am your fan, I follow your ghost hunting live broadcast and variety show, can you please sign an autograph for me? “

     “Of course.” Shi Xi signed her name and handed the book back to the girl: “Thank you for your love.”

     The little girl looked at her with starry eyes: “You are so gentle. I will continue to support you in the future!”

     “Xiao Shi?” A voice sounded behind her. Shi Xi turned around and saw a woman wearing sunglasses and a black suspender skirt walking towards her with her assistant.

     The woman took off her sunglasses and raised her red lips: “It’s really you, are you signing autographs for fans?”

     Shi Xi nodded and greeted: “Sister Xinya.”

     Wang Xinya is an actress who signed into the company at the same time as Shi Xi. At that time, everyone said that she and Shi Xi had the most star-like looks among their peers and would definitely become popular.

     When she was still a newcomer, Wang Xinya secretly competed with everyone. Later, she became a little famous because of an idol drama. After her resources were upgraded, she cleared all her peers out of her sight.

     She is two years older than Shi Xi. When they meet in the company, Shi Xi will greet her out of politeness, but she often turned a blind eye, let alone initiate a conversation.

     After entering the elevator, the girl holding the coffee took the initiative to stand in the corner.

     Wang Xinya put on sunglasses, with a faint smile on her lips: “Xiao Shi, I heard that you are very popular recently.”

     Shi Xi responded casually: “Not really.”

     “How can you deny it? You got famous from being funny on variety shows, didn’t you? You’re quite lucky,” Wang Xinya said in a condescending tone, “Being an influencer or a variety show host is pretty sweet. You can easily get attention by shaving your head, it’s low-effort and high-pay. Acting is a whole different ball game. It’s demanding and requires skill, it’s not for you.”

     The little girl frowned when she heard these words. She glanced at Shi Xi secretly and found that Shi Xi was still relaxed and seemed not to take these words to heart.

     “You auditioned for the third female lead in ‘Phantom’, right?” Wang Xinya sighed, her tone filled with pity. “Unfortunately, that role went to my friend. You should really focus on becoming a variety show host. Not everyone is cut out for acting. Don’t waste your efforts.”

     The little girl became even angrier after hearing this. She opened her mouth to refute, but was stopped by Shi Xi.

     Shi Xi said calmly, “Wang Jie, Xiao Ming’s grandfather lived to be 99, do you know why?”

     Wang Xinya paused for a moment before angrily taking off her sunglasses, her eyebrows furrowing. “Are you saying I’m nosy?”

     The elevator reached the 8th floor. Wang Xinya glared at Shi Xi and stormed away with her assistant.

     “…” The little girl was amazed: “You stopped me just to fight back!” You even changed your words and called her Sister Wang, wow, so mean.

     Shi Xi spread her hands: “I just want to discuss with her the mystery of Xiao Ming’s grandfather’s longevity.”

     “Pfft,” the little girl laughed, and soon became serious again: “Xiao Shi, she is wrong, your acting is very good. When I was watching the escape room variety show, I was shocked by the clip of you and Tang Niannian competing in acting skills. The NPC was also scared by you. You must have failed the interview because the director has poor vision. “

     The little girl got angry again as she spoke, like a pissed-off pufferfish: “And you became famous because of your ability, not luck!”

     Shi Xi comforted her, “Calm down, I know she’s wrong, and I may not be eliminated.”

     When auditioning for “The Phantom”, the director asked Shi Xi to temporarily change the role, and the third female role was not her…which was quite normal.

     The little girl looked at Shi Xi with a firm gaze: “Gold will always shine, you will definitely become a big star!”

     Shi Xi: “My little bald head is indeed very bright.”

     The little girl was amused by her again: “You said this in such a cold way, it’s even funnier.”

     Shi Xi felt warm in hee heart and said to the system: “I really want to smile at her.”

     The system was moved by this warmth: 【The punishment is about to end. I will make an exception and give you one minute of freedom to smile in advance. 】

     Shi Xi pulled down hee mask and smiled at the little girl, her eyes bright as stars: “Thank you, I will definitely increase the value of my autograph.”

     The little girl was dazzled by her smile and nodded vigorously: “Come on, Xiao Shi! Xiǎoshígōng (Hourly worker/ Part-timer) will always be with you!”

     Shi Xi was stunned: “What is ‘Xiǎoshígōng’?”

     Little girl: “It’s your fan nickname.”

     “Isn’t my fan nickname Xiao Xi Yang?” Is it really me who is asking this question?

     “Please call us ‘Xiǎoshígōng’ from now on!” The elevator opened again, and the little girl waved to her happily: “I’m here, see you later Xiao Shi!”

     The free smile ended, and Shi Xi automatically returned to her cold expression. She opened Weibo and searched, and found the “Xiǎoshígōng” meme.

 

---

     Netizen A: 【I’m eager to join the fun, what are Xiaoshi’s fans called?】 

     Shixi fans: 【Hello, it’s Xiaoshigong!】 

    Netizen A: 【This nickname is so stupid and not cute at all. Sorry to bother you. Bye. 】

     Shi Xi’s fans: 【Young man, please stay! We can also call her Xiaofen and Xiaomiao! 】

     Netizen A: 【……】

---

 

     What a sloppy name.

     Shi Xi felt so tired.

     When Shi Xi arrived at the office, Lin Wenyi was making coffee. She greeted her with a smile: “Sit down, would you like some coffee?”

     “I’ll just drink mineral water,” Shi Xi picked up the mineral water on the table and took a sip: “Sister Wen Yi, do you have anything to announce today?”

     “Why are you so cold today? You always had peach blossoms in your eyes before.” Lin Wenyi sat opposite her with a cup of coffee.

     What the hell is peach blossoms in the eyes… Shi Xi held her forehead and said, “I ran into Wang Xinya on the road. She said that the third female role in “Phantom” has been decided to be her friend.”

     “You know it now,” Lin Wenyi lowered her eyes and sighed, “I asked you to come here today because I wanted to discuss this with you. The result is out. The third woman is not you, nor Tang Niannian. It was finally decided to be Ah Hua from Liu Shi of entertainment. “

     “Stop pretending to be Sister Wen Yi,” Shi Xi guessed it as soon as she saw her expression: “Didn’t I choose Wu Chen?”

     “Is my acting so bad?” Lin Wenyi laughed, and wanted to keep it a secret: “It took ten days after the audition to get the result. Do you know why?”

      “Why?”

     “Because after watching you and Tang Niannian’s scenes together, screenwriter Liu Ling had a new inspiration. After discussing with the director, she decided to change the script.” Lin Wenyi said with a smile: “The Buddha’s son Wuchen didn’t have many scenes originally. You have become the second male lead, and the nine-tailed fox demon Bai Ying has also become the second female lead! The director and screenwriter have chosen you to play the role of Wu Chen! “

     Shi Xi was also very happy to hear the reason.

     Lin Wenyi: “The progress of “Phantom” has been delayed due to script changes. The director wants you to sign the contract as soon as possible if you are sure you want to star in it. I asked you to come here today just to ask you if you have any other scripts you like.”

     Shi Xi said without hesitation: “Since I am the reason for them to change the script, of course I have to act in it.”

     You still have to be bald for 20 days, don’t waste this hairstyle.

     Lin Wenyi nodded: “I agree, this kind of situation often brings surprises.”

 

   【Congratulations to the player “Shi Xi” for completing the “Movie Audition” mission, your acting talent is increased by 10%. You already have 65% of Lin Ying’s acting talent. 】

 

     After 10 days, the task was finally completed, and Shi Xi felt a lot more relieved.

     Lin Wenyi was a smart person and had smelled the scent of gossip early on. After explaining the serious matters, she winked at Shixi and said, “What’s going on between you and Wang Xinya?”

     Shi Xi recounted what happened in the elevator: “Wang Xinya once regarded me as an imaginary enemy, but later she felt that she had won too much and kicked me out of the list of opponents. Now I seem to have entered her sight again.”

     Lin Wenyi sighed, “The defeated opponent turned into a new opponent, and she was anxious, so when she heard that you failed the audition, she rushed to ridicule you. Were you hit hard? She said you were not suitable to be an actor.”

     Shi Xi’s eyes narrowed slightly: “The fact proves that God is chasing me to feed me.”

     “I just like your arrogance! The four main actors are still in the confidentiality stage. Before the official announcement, Wang Xinya definitely didn’t know that you were playing the second male lead. I can’t wait to see her reaction after she knows the truth.”

     Lin Wenyi was so excited that she drank half a cup of coffee, and then she remembered something: “By the way, have you not been on Tik Tok recently? After the escape room variety show became popular, the secondary creation video I edited for you on ‘Suibianpaipai’ became popular again. It has become popular, and your senior fans have made a lot of fun of it. Go and have a look. I think it will become more popular. “

     Shi Xi had indeed not logged in for a while. She opened a certain audio app and found a video edited by “Random Shot” on the popular list. It was the video of the corpse digger handing a shovel to the monk.

     After becoming popular again, “Suibianpaipai” opened the co-shooting function, so Shixi’s elder fans started to play with memes, edited a lot of silly videos, and blatantly @ her, asking her to accept the heavy love of her elders.

     Shi Xi followed the hot topics and saw the following related videos:

     The corpse digger handed over a shovel and said “You come”, and the doctor NPC took a bone saw from her hand in the voiceover of “Come on, come on”, and forced the player into a corner: “I’m here, you Do you dare to move? “

     The corpse digger Xiao handed over a shovel, and the photo retoucher took a mouse from her hand and photoshopped the bald Xiao Shi into a battle-damaged Xiao Shi. He was simply a million-dollar photo retoucher.

     The corpse digger handed over a shovel, and the prop master took the nunchaku from her and started playing with it.

     There are many similar videos…

     “Isn’t it fun?” Lin Wenyi predicted with a smile: “Based on my experience, they may set off a wave of imitations, and you will be handed shovels on a certain audio platform every day.”

     Shi Xi recalled what the assistant director said to her that day: We all have a skill. Shi Xi now deeply felt the weight of these words.

     Shi Xi couldn’t help laughing, and then she found out that the punishment of “not being able to laugh” was over!

     She smiled with joy from the bottom of her heart. It felt so good to be able to smile freely, it felt so good to be able to play the role she liked, and it felt so good to be liked by others.

     There is a brand new foreseeable future waiting for her.