Chapter 006: The Real Villainous Supporting Actress

The host chuckled and teased, “Well, that makes sense. You often take on villainous supporting roles—it must be based on real-life experience, right?”

As soon as the words left his mouth, everyone on the judges’ panel turned to look at the host in surprise, then shifted their gaze to Fang Yimeng sitting confidently in the center seat.

A young, trendy-looking actor on the panel let out a quiet, mocking snort. It wasn’t loud, but the sarcasm was clear.

The host immediately realized his blunder and looked visibly awkward, trying to steer the topic elsewhere. But Fang Yimeng spoke up, calm and composed.

“Taking on villainous roles is pure coincidence. I just act in whatever scripts the company gives me.”

She flipped her long hair off her shoulder, her bright eyes tinged with a hint of helplessness as she gave an exaggerated shrug.

“What can I say? I was born for this job. I play the villain too convincingly—it’s honestly a bit troubling.”

Without the usual outbursts or hysterical yelling, she diffused the tension with playful self-deprecation.

Some of the judges who had worked with Fang Yimeng before were visibly surprised by her uncharacteristically poised reaction.

The host, rattled, barely mumbled through the rest of the segment and didn’t dare interview another judge again for fear of making another mistake. He hurried on to the next part of the program.

The contestants for The Actor took the stage to introduce themselves.

“Before the program started, we interviewed each contestant about which mentor they hoped to work with. Let’s get straight to the results.”

The host began flipping through his cue cards, announcing names one by one.

“Qiao Yi, Zhu Rong… chose Ms. Liao as their mentor.”

He read six names in one breath—all of whom had chosen Liao Ran as their mentor.

Fang Yimeng propped her chin on one hand, eyes half-lidded, hiding the sneer in her gaze.

The other three mentors also received their fair share of picks.

Liao Ran and the other three judges each ended up with at least five or six contestants under their guidance. Only Fang Yimeng remained unchosen, even as the twenty-fourth name was read out.

Everyone on the panel turned to look at her in unison, their expressions tinged with schadenfreude.

“The twenty-fifth contestant—Ou Xiangchen—has chosen… Ms. Fang Yimeng.”

The host deliberately stretched the words, milking the suspense for dramatic effect.

At the sound of Ou Xiangchen’s name, Fang Yimeng finally lifted her eyelids, her gaze landing unerringly on the boy in the crowd.

Her lips curved in a faint smile that gradually deepened.

“Although contestants choose their mentors, if a mentor later finds that a student’s style doesn’t align with their own, they have one opportunity per elimination round to drop that student. Any student dropped by their mentor may be picked up by another, triggering a ‘revival chance.’ Each mentor has three revival slots total. If no one picks them up, the student is eliminated permanently.”

“Our competition format is simple. Contestants will have three days to prepare a set-piece performance. If the student’s own group is performing, their mentor doesn’t score them. The other mentors will grade, with the highest and lowest scores discarded and the average taken as the final result.”

“Mentors, please keep in mind that this show isn’t just a competition between students. Your guidance is part of the evaluation. After the three set-piece rounds, there will be a live-scene elimination match. Only the top three scorers will make it to the final and be crowned this season’s Champion, Runner-Up, and Second Runner-Up of The Actor.”

Fang Yimeng hadn’t paid much attention to the competition’s rules. She joined this variety show purely for the paycheck.

She hadn’t even figured out how to act properly herself—now she had to teach someone else?

With the student-mentor pairings complete, the shoot reached its halfway point.

Aside from Liao Ran and Fang Yimeng, the other three mentors returned to their dressing rooms for a break. The stagehands bustled around, changing the set. Most of the contestants, seeing their mentors leave, scattered.

Only Liao Ran’s six students hesitated, exchanging awkward glances before reluctantly approaching the judges’ panel.

Fang Yimeng pulled her phone out from beneath her seat and heard the group begin showering Liao Ran with flattery.

“Ms. Liao, you’re even more beautiful in person than on screen—not a single visible pore!”

Liao Ran gave a reserved smile and nodded slightly, clearly maintaining the air of a seasoned senior in front of the newcomers.

Fang Yimeng rolled her eyes and swiveled her chair to face away from the group.

Seriously? You can hide pores with makeup nowadays—what kind of lame flattery is that?

“Ms. Liao, I’ve watched your shows. Your acting is incredible!”

Pfft. With a face like that, Liao Ran didn’t even have to act. She just played delicate heroines as herself. And they call that good acting?

Fang Yimeng started scrolling through her phone with increasing speed.

Bored of watching Liao Ran posture like a senior artist, Fang Yimeng’s phone buzzed in her hand. She stood up and walked off to take the call.

Just as she did, Liao Ran turned to glance at her back, a contemplative look in her eyes.

“You’re really not going back to the Fang family, are you? You want to make me die of anger?!”

Her father’s voice thundered through the phone, even without speaker mode. Fang Yimeng instinctively held the phone a bit farther away.

“I don’t care what your schedule is today. If you’re not home by 9 p.m., all your cards will be permanently frozen.”

With that ultimatum, Fang’s father hung up without waiting for her response, leaving her staring blankly at the darkened screen.

The latter half of the recording consisted of VCR clips showcasing the contestants’ work.

Liao Ran’s six students were clearly up-and-coming actors. Their roles had clear character arcs that allowed them to demonstrate their acting abilities.

But after their VCRs played, the next few clips from other contestants showed a noticeable drop in quality.

Some didn’t even have a speaking role.

Fang Yimeng gave a slight, unreadable smile. On the other end of the table, the child actor Bai Lechi chuckled softly.

“These contestants really picked the right mentor.”

Was he praising those who picked Liao Ran—or mocking those who’d jumped on the bandwagon?

That one sentence made the other four judges—all except Liao Ran—smile in silence.

“It’s all about vibes, isn’t it?” Fang Yimeng rested her chin on her palm, raising a brow lazily. “Or maybe they’re just chasing after the resources that come with Liao Ran’s agency, Qingyue Media?”

Her tone was casual, but the jab hit home.

While the judges exchanged these light jabs, the big screen abruptly shifted—

And the main highlight of Fang Yimeng’s sole student, Ou Xiangchen, began to play.