Chapter 230: Chapter 230: Sudden Recording Accident on Stage
Shit! What’s going on?
Xi Meina herself was stunned. She had expected she would be eliminated, but she never imagined the other eliminated contestant would be Sang Ning!
The shock of Sang Ning’s elimination was so overwhelming that Xi Meina temporarily forgot about her own sad predicament of being eliminated.
After the shock set in, Xi Meina’s first thought was actually to console Sang Ning.
She bypassed Wang Qiuhong beside her, reached out to comfort Sang Ning, and gently patted her thigh: "Teacher Sang Ning, it’s okay, it’s okay. It’s just a competition, after all. You’ll always be the most charming Jiuqiansui to me and the most dashing General in my heart!"
Sang Ning’s eyes dimmed as she lowered her gaze, with a hint of desolate emotion flashing across her face.
After the desolation, a trace of inexplicable secret delight appeared in Sang Ning’s eyes.
"Ah! This is truly fascinating!"
Sang Ning couldn’t help but sigh, drawing the attention of Lu Ye, Wang Qiuhong, and Xi Meina, who were sitting on the same couch, as well as Shen Yi, sitting on the couch to the right.
What now? Is this kid about to lose her mind from the shock?
Meanwhile, Qingyue smirked coldly, raising his gaze mockingly before quickly turning his eyes elsewhere after giving Sang Ning a glance.
Heh, if Sang Ning could still stay on this stage, wouldn’t all the effort he put into pleasing Duan Wenhu on her bed have been wasted?
This stage could accommodate Shen Yi, but not Sang Ning!
Between him and Sang Ning, there could only be room for one!
Sang Ning’s eyes stayed fixed on the big screen, unblinking. She didn’t even notice everyone’s stares.
She rubbed her chin and mused aloud: "So this is what it feels like to try your hardest and still end in failure. Things have really become interesting now!"
Sang Ning felt that everything she’d done in life had always gone smoothly—anything she set her mind to would succeed as long as she dedicated herself fully.
But when it came to acting, she faced setback after setback. For the first time, she extracted this unwillingness—a barely negative emotion—from her mind.
How could she not find it interesting?
"Sang Ning, are you alright?" Shen Yi knitted his brows tightly, genuinely worried about Sang Ning’s mental state.
In his heart, Sang Ning was the kind of strong person who would surely struggle to accept failure.
"Sang Ning, I beg you to act normal. You’re looking way too much like a villain right now. Should I give you my spot for advancing?" Lu Ye asked, his tone still somewhat concerned.
As soon as he spoke, he felt something was off. Why had he started caring about Sang Ning?
Could it be that he was the legendary masochist? After getting beaten to a pulp by Sang Ning, he somehow felt a strange sense of submission to her.
No, absolutely not. He had to shake this perverse idea out of his head immediately.
He firmly belonged to Team Hate-Sang-Ning.
"Forget it, you might as well stay eliminated. You’re such an acting assassin; better not stick around and torment everyone," Lu Ye abruptly changed his tone.
The words weren’t very kind, and Wang Qiuhong, rare to see her muster courage, glared at him: "Please, just say fewer words, okay?"
"Teacher Sang Ning, I honestly don’t understand why I advanced..." Wang Qiuhong said with her head bowed, her eyes reddened with guilt.
She felt she hadn’t performed well enough—the advancement spot should have belonged to Sang Ning. She had stolen Sang Ning’s rightful position.
Sang Ning tilted her head and glanced at Wang Qiuhong. Her current demeanor resembled that of a guilty kitten shyly refusing to meet its owner’s eyes.
Sang Ning wanted to reach out a hand and ruffle Wang Qiuhong’s hair, but upon noticing her elaborate headpiece, she held back.
After all, the makeup artist had spent hours on that design. What if she messed it up?
Sang Ning’s raised hand finally landed on Wang Qiuhong’s shoulder: "Qiuqiu, don’t be upset. Advancing is a happy thing. Your acting is excellent; you deserve it. Don’t belittle yourself!"
Despite Sang Ning’s words of comfort, Wang Qiuhong still couldn’t bear to lift her head.
Sang Ning sighed.
Well, Qiuqiu is definitely a classic people-pleaser!
Sang Ning grabbed Wang Qiuhong’s chin, forcing her to lift her face and look directly at her. Her gaze turned dark as she deliberately pinched Wang Qiuhong and adopted a sharp, dramatic tone: "Our precious Qiuqiu is the best actor in the whole world! If you dare to randomly undermine yourself again, I’ll kill you. I, Sang Ning, don’t tolerate weaklings!"
Sang Ning deliberately mimicked Jiuqiansui’s manner of speaking. When her expression turned icy cold and her gaze carried sharp edges, it somehow sent a chill down people’s spines.
Wang Qiuhong was completely cowed by Sang Ning and dumbly nodded: "Under...stood."
Sang Ning released Wang Qiuhong’s chin and swept her gaze across the rest area crowd, deliberately ignoring Shen Yi: "Friends! Looks like this is where my journey ends. Let’s meet on the road again someday!"
Comparing misfortunes definitely brings comfort to the soul. Xi Meina was initially feeling very down, but when she thought about how even someone like Sang Ning, favored by Director Qin, didn’t make it, she suddenly felt better.
At the same time, a serious recording accident occurred on stage, forcing the crew to temporarily halt filming.
After learning Sang Ning had been eliminated, Wen Jiu directly stormed off the mentor panel, preparing to leave the studio.
The program director hurriedly intercepted Wen Jiu at the studio exit: "Teacher Wen Jiu, if there’s an issue, we can talk it over. The program is almost done filming. Could we trouble you to stay and finish the remaining small portion?"
Wen Jiu didn’t intend to get physical with the director. Instead, she stepped back, keeping at least a meter distance: "Sorry, the black-box manipulation behind this program has exceeded my expectations. I can’t stay on a show with such non-transparent advancement rules and blatant favoritism."
In Wen Jiu’s mind, the two actors most deserving of elimination were Lu Ye and Qingyue.
Their acting was at two extremes—Lu Ye lacked depth.
Qingyue, on the other hand, overacted. Overacting made his performance seem too deliberate.
It was evident Qingyue had spent considerable effort honing his skills.
But perhaps he was too eager to prove himself, and his overly forceful performances inadvertently left audiences feeling suffocated.
Meanwhile, the two seemingly less prominent actors, Wang Qiuhong and Xi Meina—either of them brought a sense of ease with their acting. Their performances felt naturally relaxed, making for an enjoyable viewing experience.
She and Director Qin shared the same opinions, as did the other two mentors, Yu Dandan and Xu Qiqi, who also recommended eliminating Qingyue and Lu Ye during their discussions.
But when the results came out, their choices aligned entirely with Ma Liheng—Sang Ning and Wang Qiuhong eliminated.
When the 3-2 vote result was revealed, Wen Jiu’s heart went cold.
Qin Jiaxiang, though dissatisfied with this outcome, was more accepting of it.
Sang Ning being eliminated in the second round wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.