Have you ever been a celebrity? Why are you writing about entertainment?

Chapter 64 Watching the show within the show

"You haven't started school yet, so what are you going to experience?"

As a celebrity observer, Yu Wei's current task should be to experience and observe Qi Luoan's daily life, but what else can a college student experience besides going to school?

"If you can't study before school starts, what do you think I returned to school early for?"

"Isn't it because you can't stay at home anymore?"

Qi Luoan clicked his tongue, not angry at all, but just glanced at the three cameramen beside him. You have the right to expose someone's secrets, but every word you say will be recorded by the production team.

The show is still being filmed, so let's talk about something positive and uplifting...

After the blind box opening segment ended, the show switched from indoor to outdoor filming, with each group of guests accompanied by a photography team to ensure that the most authentic details of the ordinary guests' lives could be captured.

Entertainment novels often gloss over the details of photographers and other staff members, but in reality, their work involves many intricate details and requires a great deal of experience.

Take the group that followed Yu Wei for example: one camera position for the wide shot, two camera positions for the relationships between the characters, and a photography assistant responsible for recording audio, with all the lenses and batteries carried by her.

After finishing work each day, they would have a meeting with the photography team to clarify the shooting content and division of labor for the next day. Yu Wei looked at their camera position diagram, and the position of each photographer was clearly marked, along with the shooting content and the focal length to be used.

People who aren't quick-witted will find it hard to succeed as photographers. Execution and adaptability are crucial, since the so-called program effects are fleeting and once missed, they're gone.

The production team actually knew that Yu Wei and Qi Luoan were old acquaintances, since the music video had only been released recently. Therefore, the filming crew was not surprised by their familiar and somewhat intimate behavior.

It's better to be familiar with each other, so there's something to do. People don't like watching people speak in a rigid and polite manner. They have a feeling that this group will be the most popular after the show starts.

"Come with me to the library to study!"

Before school even started, Qi Luoan couldn't think of any other filming locations. College students only do the same things, so he couldn't very well take him to the girls' dormitory...

So, are you planning to take the civil service exam or the postgraduate entrance exam?

As a prestigious major, Chinese Language and Literature graduates often find it difficult to gain public trust by pursuing postgraduate studies without taking the civil service exam. Even with a master's degree, the job prospects are often similar, making the civil service exam a more cost-effective option.

Of course, with her large and wealthy family, she certainly wouldn't starve if she just opened a stall.

"Why bother with exams? Wouldn't it be better to just write a book and become a flop after graduation?" Qi Luoan joked and laughed self-deprecatingly. Clearly, she was also quite helpless about this major.

"I'll ask you for advice when the time comes."

"Forget it then."

Yu Wei himself is a seasoned writer with a predictable, unorthodox writing style. Yet he teaches others. When newcomers who joined his reader group and asked for chapter recommendations reached 10,000 subscriptions, he was still babbling away.

The original plan was to go to the Jiaotong University Library, but the production team had not yet communicated with the school, so they could not openly enter the school to film. Therefore, they had to contact a local bookstore.

It's hard for a bookstore to refuse a TV show's filming invitation, since being on camera is like having a living advertisement, which will definitely attract many new customers to visit.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, the sunlight lazily slanted across the floor of the bookstore. Qi Luoan sat at a table by the window, opposite Yu Wei, the two separated by several stacks of open books.

The panoramic camera shot produced excellent results, capturing handsome men and beautiful women. The atmosphere on set was also quite comfortable, feeling like an art photoshoot.

However, the moment Yu Wei pulled out his tablet and Magic Keyboard and started typing away, the previously artistic academic atmosphere instantly crumbled...

"Anyone who didn't know better would think you were writing a thesis."

Qi Luoan really wanted to calm down and read a book, at least to make an appearance on the show, but for some reason, the thought of Yu Wei sitting across from her made it impossible for her to concentrate.

"That's still different; online novels don't need plagiarism checks."

Yu Wei did write a graduation thesis, and the repeated plagiarism checks, reductions, and additions to it were quite a hassle for him. It can only be said that Dr. Zhai's thesis is truly of high quality.

If online articles were also subject to plagiarism checks, a huge number of template-based content creators would be out of business...

"Show me what you wrote?"

Qi Luoan got bored looking at the documents, so she simply got up and sat down to watch Yu Wei write. Since she would definitely read the new chapters anyway, she might as well read them in advance.

If it were anyone else watching him type, Yu Wei would definitely cover his mouth completely, but Qi Luoan was sitting next to him with his eyes wide open, and Yu Wei didn't seem to feel awkward at all, which was very strange.

He probably wouldn't be afraid of losing face in front of his actual readers...

"Seriously, is your paragraphing in online novels all this weird? You start a new paragraph every two sentences. Don't tell me you write essays like this too."

"I remember the editor saying that online novels should be divided into as many paragraphs as possible to reduce visual strain and make it easier for readers to skim through them." Yu Wei also forgot where she learned this, but many people read novels on their phones, and long paragraphs with too many words can feel cramped.

An elderly person using their mobile phone on the subway.jpg

Qi Luoan still found it novel. After all, she had read many online novels, but this was the first time she had ever watched an author write in person. It was like watching a tortoise crawl.

If I write this slowly, who's going to read it?

"Your hand speed is too slow, bro."

"A man shouldn't be too fast."

The camera crew filming nearby were terrified. These two seemed far too familiar with each other, uttering such suggestive words so casually. What would the audience think?
Is it possible... that these two... um...

"Anyway, typing won't speed things up, so why don't you think about what song to sing together while you're writing?"

Qi Luoan's words brought the topic back on track. Don't be fooled by their current leisurely pace; they'll have to start practicing singing in the next few days.

"Singing in a chorus? I thought you wanted to sing a solo."

Yu Wei could come up with a whole bunch of songs for a female solo, but songs for a male-female duet were harder to choose, as most of them were about love and romance, which was a bit out of place.

Their relationship is clearly that of best frenemy friends.

If all else fails, just play a song by Phoenix Legend and sing along...

"Don't even think about slacking off. I haven't sung in eight years, and I don't want to embarrass your songs."

Qi Luoan had anticipated his prediction; she was there to "spy" on Yu Wei. As for singing, she didn't want to steal the spotlight; that was Yu Wei's show.

She had no interest in Yu Wei's works whatsoever; in fact, she was less interested in Yu Wei than in the works of Hong...

"No rush, let me think about it some more."

Yu Wei is only wrapping up "Swords and Dreams" today, and there's no room for a new song yet, so it's not too late to do a simple selection first.

"Are you going to write a new song?"

This question was asked by photographer Xiao Zhu. Before they came, the production team had specifically emphasized that if Yu Wei wanted to write a new song, they would fully support him.

For a music variety show, having an original song as its debut is an absolute dream start. How could we not support it? We'd practically worship Yu Wei on the spot.

"Hmm, we can look forward to it."

He can't just sing new songs; singing other people's songs will give him away. None of his previous songs were particularly suitable for male-female duets.

“That’s great! This time I’ll have to watch your creative process from start to finish.”

Writing songs is quite different from writing lyrics. At least you need a source of inspiration, a process of writing lyrics and composing music.

Yu Wei actually had the same idea. The system would also provide these creative processes, and he could take this opportunity to show the readers that he didn't actually have any songs saved up; they were all freshly made.

Are you watching "Beyond Class" tonight?

Qi Luoan, who was engrossed in reading, suddenly asked a question, which served as a reminder to Yu Wei that the episode he was participating in was about to air.

The program trailer was released last week when he signed the contract for "Music Blind Box," but I've been too busy to notice it. Qi Luoan's intention is clearly to watch it with him.

Watching the show with the people from the program, that's pretty fun!

And don't forget they're on a show right now, watching the show within the show, adding another layer, like a nested doll.

Yu Wei looked at the staff for help, wondering if she could watch the show on the program... and whether there would be any copyright conflicts or something.

Photographer Xiao Zhu nodded. Actually, their program would also be broadcast on Tencent Video. Since they were on the same platform, there was naturally no problem.

So, where do we look for it?

"Of course it's your house." Qi Luo'an asked, half-closing his eyes, "I live in the girls' dormitory, can you even get in?"

"If you want to come in, we can watch from the dorm room."

(End of this chapter)