Chapter 69: The TV Queen and the Young Star
“If it were to become a laughingstock for all eternity…”
Mu Nan had only recently received the lyrics and music sheet sent by the production team. After reading it again, she still felt that the song was very interesting.
She mainly worked as an actress, and she did not sing very often, but that did not mean her singing ability was poor.
Mu Nan had a very pleasant vocal tone. Her control over her breath and her ability to manage her voice were already at the level of a professional singer.
Unlike many so-called “cross-industry singers” who were only trying to ride on their popularity, she could even be considered one of the strongest singers among actors in the entertainment industry.
She usually only sang songs for the movies and TV dramas she starred in, using them as a supplement and interpretation of the characters she portrayed. Her singing and acting complemented each other.
Because of this, her requirements for songs were extremely high. If a song could not satisfy her understanding of the character, then no matter how good it was, she would not accept it.
But this song, “Eternal”, undoubtedly matched her expectations.
The lyrics and composition were both excellent, and the content was profound. It should be one of the best theme songs she had received throughout her many years of acting.
“You probably couldn’t write a song like this without reading the original novel at least three times, right?”
Mu Nan recalled the time when she first accepted the role. She had stayed up late repeatedly reading both the original novel and the script, and she felt a little comforted.
A very serious little brother.
She remembered how, on that day, Pu Tong had not even recognized her. Thinking about it now, she found it somewhat amusing.
She could tell that Pu Tong was not pretending. He genuinely did not know who she was.
In a way, this was actually the first time someone had asked her:
“Who are you?”
Mu Nan brushed aside the loose hair falling over her forehead and decided not to think about it anymore.
Aside from acting, she would not invest too much energy into other things.
Improvement was never something that happened overnight. Making a little progress every day was the standard she set for herself.
“First, I’ll practice this song properly.”
……
“You already know, right?”
The next day, when Yu Wanwan saw Pu Tong’s hesitant expression, she guessed that he had already learned about the connection between her and Mu Nan.
“I know a little…”
Pu Tong did not know how to respond.
No matter how hard someone worked, if they still could not surpass another person, that was not necessarily the fault of the person involved, nor was it the fault of the person they were being compared with.
Both of them wanted to do better.
It was just that the latter’s “better” happened to be stronger than the former’s “better.”
“Actually, there’s no need to compare yourself.”
Pu Tong tried to comfort her.
“Mu Nan is older than you. She’s your senior… You two aren’t even from the same generation. There’s no need to compare.”
“How should I put this…”
Yu Wanwan rested her chin on her hand in silence, then murmured:
“Imagine if the protagonist of a cultivation novel, no matter how much their cultivation improved or how many opportunities they obtained, was always described by others as the second version of someone else. Wouldn’t that feel frustrating?”
“Even though you aren’t from the same era, people still compare you, and you’re always treated as someone else’s shadow.”
Pu Tong frowned.
“I won’t talk about your little entertainment industry rivalry. The main problem is that Xu Lei is clearly trying to use both of you as a publicity gimmick.”
“This…”
Yu Wanwan hesitated.
“Actually, he only used one scene where we looked at each other. It was just footage from the show. You can sense his intention, but honestly, it’s hard to judge him based only on that.”
“Why don’t you ask your incredibly powerful…”
“No need.”
Yu Wanwan smiled bitterly.
“After all, the reality is exactly like this. He didn’t maliciously edit anything. He just showed it to everyone.”
Actually, when the trailer was released and discussions started spreading online, Jiang Yun had already asked her whether she wanted to warn Xu Lei.
But she refused.
Losing was losing.
If she refused to let people show it just because she lost, then what kind of person would she become?
Being crushed in acting was also a fact.
She wasn’t someone who couldn’t accept defeat.
“Besides, I can’t rely on my connections every time something happens, right? What kind of person would that make me?”
She murmured:
“Facing my failures calmly is also a kind of growth.”
Pu Tong looked at her stubborn expression and did not know what else to say.
Perhaps this was also a difficulty she had to overcome herself.
“Damn it, I lost again!”
The Japanese girl sitting in front suddenly sighed, but those words struck Yu Wanwan’s already fragile heart.
“What do you mean ‘lost again’?”
“Playing chess!”
Yi Zhi Xuenai picked up the draft paper on the desk and showed the five grid boards drawn on it.
Looking at the many horizontal and vertical lines made with black ink, it seemed that they had been playing Gomoku.
Five chessboards.
On every one of them, the blue pieces had lost.
“You used a blue pen?”
Pu Tong almost laughed.
“Uh…”
Yi Zhi Xuenai scratched her head awkwardly.
“Yuxi is just too good at chess…”
Don’t use someone else’s strength to cover up your own weakness!
“Want to play one round?”
The Japanese girl became excited and looked eager to try.
She refused to believe she would lose again.
“I don’t feel like it…”
Yu Wanwan waved her hand and refused.
Sometimes watching other people play chess was also entertaining.
“I’ll play!”
Pu Tong took out a red pen from his pencil case.
It seemed he needed to let this foreign friend experience the true strength of Chinese chess skills.
Although he had not played in a long time, beating the Japanese girl was still very easy.
Before long, he had connected four pieces in a row, leaving Yi Zhi Xuenai completely silent.
“I lost again!”
“Please stop saying those words!”
Yu Wanwan teased her.
“Right now, my whole head is filled with ‘I lost again, I lost again…’”
“Wanyan, don’t be like this.”
Yi Zhi Xuenai rubbed her forehead.
“If you compare yourself with Mu Nan, of course you’ll feel miserable. Why don’t you compare yourself with me instead? Wouldn’t you immediately feel better?”
“I can draw, but I can’t.”
“But I’m not very good at acting either. I even forget my lines often. It’s really embarrassing.”
“You can draw.”
“I’m not as professional as you when singing either. I can sing the same song twice and it’ll sound completely different.”
“You can draw.”
“But I…”
“You can draw.”
“……”
Being able to draw was already a huge victory, okay?
Lin Yuxi was attracted by the commotion between them. She first looked at the chessboard, then glanced at Yi Zhi Xuenai.
“You lost again!”
“Ah!”
Two unhappy voices sounded at the same time.
Now, whenever someone said “you lost again,” there would be two people reacting at once.
The question was: which two people were they?
“Stop scolding me, stop scolding me. My chess skills are just not good enough.”
Yi Zhi Xuenai took her blue pen and started drawing circles on the draft paper.
“Then Wanwan, what about you?”
Lin Yuxi looked at her meaningfully, then suddenly realized something.
“Wanyan, you…”
“You can dance!”
“Ah, I mean, don’t get too obsessed with this matter.”
“You can dance!”
Pu Tong couldn’t take it anymore.
“Are you a repeater?”
Yu Wanwan immediately turned her attention toward him and continued repeating.
“You can write songs!”
“……”
Self-denial was the beginning of stepping onto the spiral staircase of history.
Girl, you’re trapped in your own thoughts!
While Yu Wanyan was muttering to herself, she suddenly slapped her forehead and looked at the three people.
“You can draw.”
“You can dance.”
“You can write songs.”
“Then doesn’t that mean… I’m actually the useless one?”
She suddenly realized that everyone around her had something they were good at.
But the thing she was best at had always been surpassed by someone else.
Looking at it this way, was she actually the most ordinary one?
This was the first time Pu Tong had ever seen this kind of expression in Yu Wanwan’s eyes.
“Once you start thinking you’re useless, then every problem suddenly becomes easy to explain!”
Yu Wanwan lay on the desk, looking a little depressed.
“That’s my line…”
Yi Zhi Xuenai scratched her head.
She suddenly felt like her entire character setting was being stolen.
“What should we do?”
The three of them looked at each other.
Anyone with eyes could tell that Yu Wanwan had been affected by public opinion and had fallen into a cycle of self-doubt.
“I have a plan!”
Yi Zhi Xuenai raised both hands dramatically and pointed at Pu Tong.
“You go kiss her. She’ll definitely come back to life instantly!”
“A brilliant plan!”
Lin Yuxi clapped her hands in agreement.
“Get lost!”
Pu Tong felt speechless.
“How can you still joke around at a time like this?”
Pu Tong had never expected that Yu Wanwan, who always looked cheerful and optimistic, actually had such a huge inner obstacle.
In the entertainment industry, whose inner demon wasn’t Mu Nan?
Especially when that inner demon was someone who could never be defeated no matter how hard you tried.
Yu Wanwan worked hard, but Mu Nan worked even harder.
When everyone else’s growth was linear, Mu Nan’s growth was exponential.
It wasn’t that Yu Wanwan liked comparing herself with others.
It was just that the two of them had competed against each other too many times.
That feeling of failure had already been carved deep into her heart.
Combined with countless discussions, evaluations, comparisons, and criticism from netizens, she had nowhere to escape.
“It’s not that we’re joking.”
Lin Yuxi patted Pu Tong’s shoulder with a serious expression, as if she was giving him an important mission.
“Pu Tong, when it comes to Wanwan, you can actually do more than we can.”
“You are the key among the keys!”
(End of Chapter)
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