The first place went to an unsigned amateur, so it didn’t attract much attention. As a result, the second-place winner, Zheng Qingze, took the spotlight, buying trending topics and press releases, which sparked widespread discussion.

Zheng Qingze’s fans were like it was the New Year: 【Qingze, second place in the A University Performing Arts Department! Oh my gosh, I’m so proud! This is my idol!】

【Hahaha, all I want to say now is: Qingze is awesome!】

【Ahhhh, our Qingze is truly a top student! Now we can really slap those haters in the face!】

【Well, doesn’t someone want to let ‘results speak for themselves’? [doge emoji]】

Xiao Yumo reported to C University and did not participate in A University’s art examination. Although he and Zheng Qingze are rivals, they can’t be compared just yet. However, the “top student” Lu Ning, who was mentioned by Xiao Yumo in comparison to Zheng Qingze, can certainly be criticized.

As a result, new comments were added to Lu Ning’s Weibo post.

【Laughing so hard, who said they wanted to let their grades speak for themselves? Doesn’t that hurt their face?】

【Do they not have any self-awareness? Why do they have to come out and act like they’re amazing?】

【They talked a big game but ended up in last place, lol!】

【Hahaha, second place versus last place—no comparison, no harm!】

【What’s there to mock? They were talking about college entrance exam scores, not art exam scores!】

【Art exam scores can still reflect a person’s level, okay? Truly outstanding people excel in every aspect.】

【When he said that back then, I thought he was impressive; what a letdown!】

【Why make it such a big deal? Let’s just wait for the college entrance exam results.】

When Lu Ning participated in the art examination, he was still at Xinquan. On one hand, he had a lot of schedules to rush; on the other hand, Xinquan never provided any acting classes for him. Everything relied on Lu Ning’s talent and instinct, which he explored on his own. Given these circumstances, passing a formal exam was actually quite challenging.

As soon as Yu Nuo saw it, she realized that someone online was deliberately stirring up trouble, completely conflating the concepts of the art exam and the college entrance exam. This kind of behavior was truly disgusting. With just over two months until the college entrance exam, she had been watching Lu Ning’s hard work and progress during this time. If his mindset were to really collapse because of this, it would make her furious.

She said to Lu Ning, “It’s good that you passed the art exam. Just focus on preparing for the college entrance exam, and don’t let these things affect you.”

However, Lu Ning showed no reaction to the online opinions. He even smiled sheepishly at Yu Nuo and said, “No, Yu Nuo, I feel like the art exam doesn’t mean much to me anymore. I find learning more interesting. I want to go to Huada to do research.”

Yu Nuo: “???” Am I your agent or your life coach?

“But if that’s the case… I really feel sorry for Huanyu for giving me such a good contract…”

Yu Nuo quickly said, “No, no, no, you haven’t let Huanyu down.” After all, Huanyu hadn’t spent much on cultivating Lu Ning as an artist; instead, Mr. had spent hundreds of thousands on Lu Ning’s education.

Wait… if that’s the case, does it mean Mr. had planned this all along? He’s unintentionally pushed Lu Ning further down the path of learning.

Could it be that Huanyu will establish a new program called—The Qingbei Class?

Once Lu Ning gets accepted, he’ll become a living advertisement—“A million to get you into Qingbei”?

【The plot twist of ‘Carrying the Child of a Rich Old Man’ is at 60%.”】

…

March is the season of lush grass and singing orioles, when all things come back to life under the bright and sunny skies.

On the set of the film “Night Whispers,” a giant sunshade was propped up, beneath which sat a comfortable lounge chair. Beside it, a folding table held various personal items.

“Cut! Perfect!”

“This scene is over. Everyone, take a quick break.”

Yu Zhou emerged from the emotional depths of his scene, and as he looked at the beautiful female lead, his warm gaze instantly turned to one of disdain. The female lead, aware that this man had even more of a “princess syndrome” than she did, wisely stepped aside to chat with the second female lead.

Returning to the shade of the sunshade, Yu Zhou’s assistant handed him his sunglasses and a glass of perfectly chilled lemonade. The makeup artist carefully examined his face and, finding his makeup still flawless, went off to take a break.

Yu Zhou bit the straw and took a sip of lemonade. He flipped through his script, filled with markings and notes, and picked up a pen from the small table beside him to jot down a few more comments, his expression serious and focused.

After reviewing the footage, the director strode over to Yu Zhou’s side. Noticing there wasn’t a chair nearby, he squatted down and asked, “Teacher Yu, how did you feel about the segment we just shot? Is there anything you want to change?”

Yu Zhou took off his sunglasses, sat up straight, and said, “Xiao Zhao, go get Director Xu a chair.” Director Xu had directed several high-quality films but hadn’t gained much popularity. Yu Zhou liked him quite a bit, and he felt it was important to show basic respect to elders.

“Ah! Thank you, thank you.” Director Xu was a bit flattered. Although the set was his domain, it was rare for Yu Zhou to look favorably upon anyone.

“If you ask me, I think I performed well. The script was written quite nicely.” In terms of performance, Yu Zhou held himself to high standards; when he said he did okay, it meant he actually did very well.

Director Xu immediately said, “How can you say it was just okay? Your acting is simply perfect.” The supporting characters were also drawn into the scene by Yu Zhou; this was the most effortless production he had ever been part of, requiring no shouting or coaxing from him.

He tentatively continued to ask, “So, do you think… this film will be a hit?” He had directed a few flops; although the reviews were decent, the ratings never seemed to make a splash. He was desperate for a breakthrough. With Yu Zhou, a real lucky charm, could he finally turn the tide?

“Will it be a hit?” Yu Zhou thoughtfully pondered for a moment before replying, “A moderate success is definitely possible.” He didn’t expect the films he participated in to be massive hits, but they certainly wouldn’t flop.

“But for it to be a big hit…” He flipped through the script. “The storylines for the female lead and the second female lead alongside mine might need some adjustments.”

“The script is actually quite well written; each storyline is very engaging. However, the romantic plot feels clichéd. The female lead and the second female lead both liking the male lead and turning against each other—that kind of storyline has been around for years!”

“Why not enrich their characters? The policewoman and the female antagonist may be rivals at first, but during their confrontations, they can be evenly matched, appreciating and respecting each other. One is upholding the law’s justice and dignity, while the other seeks vengeance for the innocent against the wicked; they simply have differing stances. Also, for them…” Yu Zhou rambled on, adding a whole bunch of scenes for the female lead and the second female lead.

“That makes sense.” Director Xu listened, somewhat taken aback. “So does that mean some of the emotional scenes with you should be cut?”

Yu Zhou replied seriously, “Of course, we should cut those and increase the interactions between the female lead and the second female lead. What’s the point of having so much romantic drama in a crime drama?”

He flipped through his script again. “Also, Director Xu, look at this; I’ve written character profiles for both of them. Their characterizations can be adjusted like this…” Yu Zhou continued to brainstorm ways to enrich the female lead and the second female lead’s characters.

Director Xu stared at Yu Zhou’s script filled with notes, stunned. Was this the power of a human lucky charm? It turned out all this brilliance came from hard work behind the scenes. He nodded repeatedly, “Oh, okay, I’ll go discuss this with the screenwriting team right away.”

He couldn’t help but sigh, “If only Mr. Yu had brought a screenwriter into the crew, that would be amazing.”

Yu Zhou sipped his lemonade and replied, “Isn’t it often reported by the media that I’m being difficult to work with?”

Director Xu excitedly chatted with Yu Zhou, “No, no, no, Mr. Yu, today I realized that truly outstanding actors are the ones directors beg to act difficult!”

The assistant turned to whisper to the makeup artist nearby, “Our Brother Zhou is at it again, trying to get out of filming romantic scenes by spinning a whole web of yuri plotlines for the female lead and the second female lead…”

The makeup artist replied, “But whatever brother Zhou comes up with always turns out to be a hit. I don’t know why; it’s like he was born for the audience’s tastes.”

The assistant sighed, “Usually, when the producers want to add more scenes for the female lead and the second female lead, they have to pay extra. But our Brother Zhou just has to say a few words, and the scenes get added without any cost—it’s simply miraculous!”

The makeup artist was more concerned about Yu Zhou’s skin, saying, “By the way, did brother Zhou choose to work on Night Talk because he doesn’t want to be out in the sun? This drama has a lot of night scenes, right?”

Hearing this, Yu Zhou finally turned around and said, “Do you really think I can’t hear you when you’re talking so loudly behind my back? I chose Night Talk because I have good taste, of course.”

The assistant and the makeup artist immediately affirmed, “Yes, that’s right! Our Brother Zhou has the best taste!”

Brother Zhou was like the “little princess” of their studio; aside from being a bit spoiled and not liking it when others called him spoiled, he was very kind to the people in the studio, and both the assistant and the makeup artist felt comfortable joking with him.

Over here, the crew had rested enough and was getting ready to start filming, while the neighboring crew was quite lively. From a distance, they could see several staff members carrying a large number of items over.

It looked like something was going on. Director Xu waited for two minutes until a few crew members reached their set and politely greeted everyone.

Then they said, “Our crew’s Qingze just checked the art examination results, and everyone is egging him on to treat us. Since the two crews are adjacent, we came over to deliver some!”

“The milk tea is all lightly sweetened, so everyone can drink it with peace of mind.” They carried several large bags of milk tea and distributed it to the Night Talk crew.

“I heard Qingze ranked second; that’s really impressive! This young person has a bright future ahead.”

“It’s so thoughtful of him to come over and share with us. We truly appreciate it.”

As everyone received their milk tea, they exchanged a few polite remarks.

The neighboring crew was shooting an idol drama, mostly featuring young actors, while this side had more seasoned veterans in the film industry. Zheng Qingze’s approach of making a splash and leaving a good impression in this way was quite clever.

The female lead set her milk tea aside and leaned in to whisper to the second female lead, “Isn’t Zheng Qingze the one who forcibly tried to ship you with him last time? After the fans refined it, didn’t they come to insult you, calling you an old woman?”

The second female lead didn’t seem to care much and replied, “Mm.”

The female lead immediately expressed her disdain: “Isn’t it a bit too deliberate for him to come all the way here to deliver bubble tea? As if anyone would forget that he got second place!”

“It doesn’t necessarily mean he wants to flaunt his grades. He might just be looking for an excuse to get closer, considering everyone in the group is pretty impressive,” the second female lead said, resting her chin on her hand and nodding toward Yu Zhou. “The most important thing is, he’s right here.”

The two girls sat together, supporting their faces in their hands, looking like they were enjoying a show.

“This guy pretends to be a big shot but is actually a germaphobe. Just watch, he won’t even touch that bubble tea.”

“Mr. Yu.” Zheng Qingze’s assistant approached Yu Zhou and specially took out a separately packaged drink. “Qingze heard you have a germaphobia, so he asked the bubble tea shop to prepare this just for you.”

The assistant, Xiao Zhao, immediately reached out to take it for Yu Zhou. Yu Zhou coldly replied, “Thank him for his kindness, but I don’t eat outside food.”

Meanwhile, a staff member from the production team, sipping bubble tea, heard about Zheng Qingze getting second place and opened Weibo to take a look. He also saw news about Lu Ning and couldn’t help but exclaim, “That Lu Ning actually came in last. Seems a bit embarrassing.”

Yu Zhou wasn’t really paying attention to trending topics, so he only just learned about this news and was somewhat puzzled. “Lu Ning? Why is he taking the arts entrance exam? Isn’t he supposed to be taking the entrance exams for Jingda and Huada?”

Zheng Qingze’s assistant was also surprised. Did someone as high-profile as Mr. Yu actually know Lu Ning? And did he, like Xiao Yumo, think that Lu Ning was going for Jingda and Huada? What kind of filter were they seeing Lu Ning through?

Assistant Xiao Zhao reminded him, “Brother Zhou, check the trending topics.”

Following his advice, Yu Zhou opened Weibo and scrolled through the trending topics. After two minutes, he commented, “Have the smear campaigns become this blatant now?”

The two girls nearby, who were eavesdropping, nearly burst out laughing. Yu Zhou’s comment was just too straightforward. What kind of status did Yu Zhou hold in the industry? If this got out, Zheng Qingze might as well give up on his career.

“I told you, never provoke Yu Zhou for no reason. He looks stunning on screen but is a total nightmare off it.”

Zheng Qingze’s assistant, who hadn’t left yet, wanted to see what attitude Yu Zhou would take. But as soon as he heard that, his expression darkened immediately.

Meanwhile, Yu Zhou continued to seriously critique, seemingly unconcerned: “He clearly said four months from now. If you check the dates, that’s the college entrance exam. Can these people not read? What’s all this about an arts entrance exam?”

Yu Zhou’s tone was as if he were talking about a disappointing son: “And then there’s Lu Ning. Why would a perfectly good high school senior want to participate in the arts entrance exam? What a waste of time.” In his mind, since it was a score that even Fu Yunshen acknowledged, it couldn’t possibly be wrong.

Hearing Yu Zhou speak like this, Zheng Qingze’s assistant’s face darkened. It turned out there were plenty of people in the industry who disliked Yu Zhou for a reason. He forced a smile and said, “Mr. Yu, I’ll be heading back now.”

To Yu Zhou, Lu Ning was practically one of his own. If one of his own was being bullied, of course he had to step in and save face.

So he retweeted a certain marketing account’s post mocking Lu Ning with a comment: 【Can’t tell the difference between the arts exam and the college entrance exam?】

Nearby, the onlookers, particularly the first female lead, quickly saw Yu Zhou’s Weibo post. On a whim, she ran over to Yu Zhou and said, “Mr. Yu, I have a suggestion…”

Yu Zhou listened quietly, finding it amusing. He smiled and replied, “Sounds good.”

Then the female lead took a picture with their respective bubble teas and both posted a cheeky Weibo update: 【Thanks to Qingze from the neighboring production team for the congratulatory bubble tea for the arts exam. [Image]】