I just want to sell products, but you're forcing me to perform talents.

Chapter 196 Snap out of it! We're going back to the mortal world!

This night was destined to be lively.

Ye Xian's ghost stories sound ordinary at first, but they become increasingly terrifying as you read on.

The most terrifying thing about the story of "Painted Skin" is that the evil spirit can change into human skin at any time. One moment it is loving and affectionate with you, the next moment it can eat your heart, and the next moment it can become the old lady next door.

What is most commendable is that the wife knew perfectly well that her husband had died because of his lust for beauty, yet she willingly swallowed other people's spit.

Ye Xian didn't show off his classical Chinese knowledge; he simply told the story of "Painted Skin" in plain language. Li Xin and Duan Fei were frightened and tried to calm themselves with 52-degree boiled water, but Ye Xian glared at them, and they put the water down sheepishly.

Since officially following Ye Xian, Ye Xian has given up drinking for both of them.

I want to sing, but I can't drink.

After drinking, there will be no more songs.

They both knew very well which was more important.

[Understanding: Brother Xian, this ghost story you told is quite different from the ghost stories I used to hear. Nowadays, ghost stories in movies and TV series are either about people scaring people or about schizophrenia in a comedic way, complete with all sorts of sound effects. Even if there are no ghosts, they'll scare you sick.]

[Going shopping with a baby bottle in his mouth: Indeed, Brother Xian's ghost story sounds ordinary, but upon closer inspection, it contains a lot of criticism. Lustful men, cunning and manipulative swindlers, and submissive and selfless wives...]

[Do whatever you want on the kang: The plot is tight, with one climax after another. This ghost story by Brother Xian is full of twists and turns. At first, you just think it's a woman and a Taoist priest swindling money, but who knew the Taoist priest was real and the woman was a ghost. Then he hired a beggar to trample on his wife, trying to wake her up, but she stayed by his side. Tsk tsk tsk, I feel like I can give this story 99 points. I'm not going to deduct one point so you won't get too proud!]

[Chrysanthemum in Red: Holy crap, no wonder I always fail Chinese! I got those reading comprehension questions wrong, just like you guys!]

……

The number of viewers in the live stream gradually increased from less than 10 at the beginning to 20.

Seeing that everyone really enjoyed the ghost story, Ye Xian knew he had finally found the right path.

When I talked about "Dream of the Red Chamber" before, although I used the way online novels were told, it only attracted some young girls and book fans.

Now, when ghost stories from "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio" are told, they immediately capture the hearts of people of all ages and genders.

Tsk, still young.

Despite having lived two lives, it doesn't mean my age is added together. My experience is still limited. I used to think that copying famous works was enough, but now I realize that what's suitable for the general public is what I should talk about first.

After finishing the ghost story, Ye Xian laughed and said, "Alright, come back to reality! We're going back to the mortal world!"

Li Xin and Duan Fei simultaneously punched Ye Xian with their little fists: "Brother Xian, you scared us again!"

Ye Xian looked at the audience in the live broadcast room and said, "The 'Painted Skin' I'm talking about belongs to another book of mine, called 'Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio.' I'm still writing this book. There are more than just this one ghost story; it's a series. I'll share it with everyone when I finish writing it!"

Now let's get something fun going and start the live chat segment.

[Love is a deep and treacherous river: Holy crap, Brother Xian, you've written another book? Are you that prolific?]

[Long-tongued Gentleman: What about the complete version of "Dream of the Red Chamber" you promised everyone? When will it be released?]

[Seizing the moment: Why read *Dream of the Red Chamber*? This *Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio* sounds so exciting! If it's all on the same level as *Painted Skin*, I'll pre-order a copy!]

[Girl Juicer: Brother Xian, give the others a break! You're singing, acting, and writing books—you're too versatile!]

……

After the live stream ended, Sun Li posted short videos of Ye Xian telling the story of "Painted Skin" on the official Kuaiyin account and super topic of Xiaoyetuan. Many book fans who didn't have time to watch the live stream heard this ghost story the next day.

To everyone's surprise, Ye Xian, who thought he could only write romance novels, was also quite good at writing ghost stories.

Many people rushed to Ye Xian's blog to urge him to update.

At this moment, Ye Xian was welcoming Liu Xiaoxiao's return.

Liu Xiaoxiao was also a little dazed. How many times had she come here?

Why does it feel like Ye Xian's house is just like my own?

Autumn's mother also frowned a little. Why are these female celebrities coming more and more often?

Ye Xian's recording studio has been demolished; the entire building is gone. So now he rents recording studios in Haizhou.

The recording studio here has a higher-end equipment. The sound engineer was overjoyed to see that Ye Xian and Liu Xiaoxiao were there to record, but under Bai Jie's strong pressure, he obediently left the recording studio and went to find a place to smoke.

Ye Xian was pressed for time, so there was no time for pleasantries: "Your movie is more of a scenic documentary style, so the song I wrote relies more on your own voice and singing skills. There are two ways to sing it: one is for us to sing together, a male-female mixed voice + rap, and the other is for you to sing solo, highlighting your natural talent."

I'll sing it once first, then you can get a feel for it.

When Liu Xiaoxiao heard that Ye Xian wanted to sing a duet with her, she was first delighted, but then she immediately understood the difference between the two singing styles: one was to pair herself with Ye Xian, and the other was to highlight herself.

At this moment, Ye Xian walked into the recording studio and sang a few lines of lyrics in a leisurely tone.

Liu Xiaoxiao's eyes lit up. When she first saw the lyrics, they seemed very ordinary. She even tried to sing them according to the melody, but she couldn't find the essence. Now, with Ye Xian singing them like this, the pleasant and healing power was immediately conveyed.

After Ye Xian finished singing, he walked out of the recording studio and looked at Liu Xiaoxiao: "So, have you made up your mind?"

Liu Xiaoxiao hesitated for a moment, but Bai Jie chimed in, "What are you hesitating for? We want them all!"

Ye Xian was taken aback, then laughed and said, "Alright, whatever you want."

……

Ye Xian is very busy right now, so busy that he doesn't even know what he's doing.

In between recording Liu Xiaoxiao's audio, I also received several illustrators.

The images of Jia Baoyu and Lin Daiyu have already been decided. The only remaining issue is the actresses. There's no need to keep refining the other characters like this. Having multiple illustrators work together to quickly produce the artwork will also help generate a concentrated burst of discussion.

This time, Liu Xiaoxiao came not just to record a song, but to audition.

Jiang Tian will arrive a few days later because of a performance.

This time, the two had a very clear goal: they had to get involved in the highly anticipated TV series "Dream of the Red Chamber," even if they couldn't play the lead role of Lin Daiyu, they had to play Xue Baochai.

The fact that the Sixth Princess is one factor is that it's really hard to find a drama with a group of strong female leads.

After meeting with the illustrator, Director Jia went to the recording studio to discuss the script with Ye Xian. Although the script was a finished product, it needed to be polished to make it more in line with current trends, rather than just a copy.

Times are changing. Whether it's the 87 version or the 10 version, they are all from the past few decades. The makeup needs to be adjusted, the lines need to be adjusted, and people's tastes are constantly changing.

The script had only been discussed for a short time when several interviewees for Lin Daiyu arrived.

Ye Xian wanted to leave all these matters to Director Jia to handle himself, but only he knew what kind of Lin Daiyu was most suitable. Fearing a repeat of the "10th version incident," he had no choice but to let Liu Xiaoxiao practice by listening to his demo first, and then hurriedly rushed home.

Indeed, the interview location Ye Xian prepared was also on a pile of ruins.

The live stream never stopped. Ye Xian walked in front of the camera and smiled, "Have you all had your late-night snack? Later, there will be a few auditionees publicly interviewing for the role of Lin Daiyu in my live stream. I will also start a vote in the live stream, so everyone can vote together to choose the most suitable Lin Daiyu in your opinion!"

Originally, there were only a few thousand people in the live stream, watching the slow-moving construction site. But the moment Ye Xian appeared, the number of viewers in the live stream skyrocketed. When Ye Xian announced that he would be publicly selecting Lin Daiyu, the number of viewers in the live stream exploded instantly.

In just ten minutes, the number of viewers in the live stream surged from over 3000 to 5.

Fifteen minutes later.

The number of viewers in the live stream was over 10.

Anime and manga fans were the first to flock to the scene.

……

Ps1: Today's Recap

Haizhou aged liquor inventory: 6005 bottles

……

Ps2:

The casting is just a setup for the plot; it won't be a big deal and will end quickly. Now, let's move on to the new song.

感谢梅森、星际黑伯爵、梦_湄、万界观测者、拾起记忆的碎片、成红枫、天豹隐鹰、寒翎羽233、红云肥狐、我是呜呜呜呜呜呜、到处d逛逛、上官逸豪、飞叶1973、花狼、A豹子头零充A、我真不是小黑子444、传说昊天、左丘汗儒、玉小骨、小二幺子、喑毒、玄音、爱书者20170925、火爆之洪、名称不好取、眞心丶瑶、书友120……5384、书友202……7420、二丫要乖喔、风凌武、wincash、暗香小天、葬天荡、如在水中、icericer、黑皮骏哥、风之幻韵、不懂依人心、书友202……0193、小肥狼、honyeung、川姐脑残粉、书友202……6999、书友202……3303、人生淡定过、三小猪、被风吹到海边、优伤居士、一叶之鸿、半步微浮、失眠症晚期患者、心无菩提16530、书友20190807034424723、拔掉虎牙做猫咪、时刻随缘、雷电银浪、小米虫、半步微浮等等朋友的推荐票、月票、打赏，感谢各位~

Requesting monthly votes! Requesting recommendation votes! Requesting paragraph reviews! Requesting posts! Requesting character submissions! Requesting subscriptions! My new book is now available, and all the data is crucial to me, so thank you all so much!

(End of this chapter)