From unemployment in crosstalk to top star in Chinese entertainment

"You're dreaming!!!"

Yu Liang laughed loudly and threw his phone aside.

Three days later, backstage at "Roast Conference".

Yu Liang pushed open the door to the dressing room, and a familiar scent of cosmetics wafted towards her.

He knows this flavor all too well.

The backstage area of ​​Deyun Club always smells like this, except that over there it's a mix of tea and sweat, while over here it's a mix of more expensive perfume.

"Hey, our top TikTok influencer is here!"

Ma Sichun turned around in front of the makeup mirror, her eyes crinkling into crescent moons with a smile.

She was wearing a plaid suit, her hair was casually tied up, and she exuded a cool and confident vibe.

"Sister Sichun," Yu Liang greeted with a smile, "Don't belittle me. What top star? I'm just an unemployed crosstalk comedian looking for a new job."

"Your re-employment is quite remarkable."

Ma Sichun stood up and looked him up and down.

"I spent the whole night scrolling through Douyin, and the screen was full of 'underwear stockings,' and the comments section was full of people tagging you and saying things like 'Don't forget the well-digger when you drink the water.'"

Yu Liang remained silent.

"...Could you please not mention those three words?"

"What? Are you shy about the joke you made up?" Ma Sichun laughed heartily.

"Let me tell you, half of the things the production team has arranged for you to criticize today are related to this."

Yu Liang's face darkened: "So you invited me here just to publicly execute me?"

"Otherwise what?"

Masiliol spoke with righteous indignation.

"Why do you think we invited you? Because you're good at crosstalk? Don't be ridiculous, I've never even heard your crosstalk."

Yu Liang: "..."

Heartbroken.

Although what she said was true.

Just then, the door was pushed open again.

A girl with a ponytail peeked in, a slightly embarrassed smile on her face.

"Sister Sichun, Brother Liang."

Wang Churan.

Yu Liang glanced at her subconsciously.

Today I wore a simple white sweatshirt with light blue jeans, looking fresh and clean, a stark contrast to the "accidental hand gesture" on WeChat the other day.

"Chu Ran is here." Ma Sichun waved. "Come and sit down. Yu Liang, where are you looking?"

"Look at her outfit." Yu Liangmian said without changing her expression, "A fashion blogger, it's her professional instinct."

"Are you a fashion blogger? You're clearly... "

"Sister Sichun!" Wang Churan quickly interrupted, her ears already red, "Let's go over the process."

Ma Sichun laughed so hard she almost fell over, and patted Yu Liang on the shoulder: "Okay, I'll let you off the hook for today. Treat us to dinner after the show tonight, and we'll call it even."

"...Are they letting me go or killing me?"

Wang Churan whispered from the side, "Brother Liang, how about I treat you? After all, I'm the one who brought you here."

"No," Yu Liang waved her hand. "I'll treat you. But there's one condition."

"What are the conditions?"

Yu Liang looked at Wang Churan, a slight smirk playing on her lips: "You have to tell me about that video when we're eating..."

Wang Churan's face instantly turned red from her ears to her neck. She grabbed a nearby cushion and threw it at him: "Didn't you say you wouldn't mention it?!"

Ma Sichun laughed so hard she slapped her thigh: "What video? How come I don't know about it? Chu Ran, tell me."

"Sister Sichun!"

The dressing room was in complete chaos.

---

Recording began at 7 p.m.

The stage for "Roast" was smaller than Yu Liang had imagined, but the lighting was excellent, giving him the illusion of being watched by the whole world.

Today he wore black flared suit pants with a white shirt, and a dark gray knitted vest over them.

It was built by myself—it retains the dignified style of a crosstalk performer while adding a touch of fashion.

In the words of netizens, "This man's fashion sense has finally evolved from 'backstage at Deyun Club' to 'queuing at the entrance of Milan Fashion Week'."

Zhang Shaogang stood on the stage, holding cue cards, and began his introduction:

"Today's guest lineup is incredibly impressive. Golden Horse Award-winning actress Ma Sichun, rising star Wang Churan, stand-up comedians Li Dan and Chi Zi..."

He paused, then looked at Yu Liang meaningfully.

"And there's another one—Yu Liang, the former crosstalk comedian, now a fashion blogger, and the father of underwear stockings, who's recently become a sensation on Douyin!"

The audience laughed.

Yu Liang sat in the guest seats and clapped expressionlessly.

I was thinking to myself: This nickname is going to stick, isn't it?

"Let's give a warm round of applause to our first guest critic—Li Dan!"

---

Li Dan swayed onto the stage, his small eyes squinting, looking like he hadn't woken up yet.

"Hello everyone, I'm Li Dan. Today's lineup is quite interesting, with an award-winning actress, a rising star, and a crosstalk comedian."

"To be honest, I was quite puzzled when I received the invitation. Why would Ma Sichun invite a crosstalk comedian to appear on 'Roast Conference'?"

"Later I figured it out."

"It's probably because Deyun Club tickets are too expensive, and she wanted to hear a segment of the show for free."

The audience burst into laughter. Yu Liang smiled and shook his head.

Li Dan continued, "I've done some research on Yu Liang, and I've found his life trajectory to be quite interesting."

"He was originally a crosstalk performer at Deyun Club, but Guo Qilin went solo, leaving him 'unemployed like a widow'."

"What do you do after losing your job? Play on TikTok."

"How did they become popular on Douyin? Through selfies. And how did they become fashion bloggers?"

He looked at Yu Liang: "I just want to ask you one question. You're a crosstalk performer, and instead of focusing on how to deliver punchlines, you spend all your time figuring out how to shake your pants—how can you face your master?"

The whole place burst into laughter.

Yu Liang stood up and replied in a straight-up comedic tone:

"Master? I have a master?"

The reaction was too fast.

The audience paused for a second, then burst into even louder laughter.

Li Dan laughed too: "Look, this is the basic skill of a crosstalk performer—being a master at picking up on conversations."

He continued, "But to be honest, Yu Liang's situation was quite enlightening for me."

"Look at him, he transitioned from a crosstalk performer to a fashion blogger so smoothly."

"I'm thinking now, should I also make a career change? After all, stand-up comedy isn't easy. Maybe I should try posting selfies on Douyin?"

Chi Zi shouted from below the stage, "Go ahead and post it, netizens will make you go back to the stand-up comedy scene."

Li Dan turned around: "Shut up, it'll be your turn soon."

"If I post a selfie, netizens will definitely comment: 'Li Dan, please, put on some clothes.'"

"Li Dan, stop laughing. Those wrinkles could trap a fly."

"Li Dan, how dare you give me fashion advice? Are all your clothes hand-me-downs from Yu Liang?"

Yu Liang gave a thumbs-up from the audience.

---

After Li Dan finished complaining, it was Ma Sichun's turn.

When Ma Sichun took the stage, her first words were:

"Hello everyone, I'm Ma Sichun. Before I came here today, my agent told me, 'You're the main guest today, so you need to act like one and stop laughing.' I said okay."

"Then she continued, 'Yu Liang is coming too.'"

I said, "That's it."

The audience laughed.

"I've known Yu Liang for quite a long time. We first met on the set of the drama 'Oh My General'."

"Back then, he was still a junior actor at Deyun Club, wearing a long gown and bowing to everyone he met—'Hello, Sister Sichun, have you eaten yet?'"

"At the time, I thought this young man was quite polite, but his clothes were too outdated."

Yu Liang covered her face.

"And guess what? Not long after, I was scrolling through Douyin (TikTok) and saw him. Wow, he was a completely different person."

"I took a screenshot and sent it to my best friend: 'Isn't this guy handsome?'"

My best friend glanced at it and said, "Isn't that the guy in the long gown who bowed to you before?"

Ma Sichun shrugged: "At that moment, I thought—it's over, I missed out on a fortune."

The whole audience burst into laughter.

"Later I researched how he changed. Netizens told him to change his hairstyle, he did; they told him to change his clothes, he did; they told him to work out, he did."

"I just want to say, Yu Liang, aren't you incredibly indecisive? You just do whatever netizens tell you to do?"

She paused for a moment.

"Your online friend asked you to marry me—would you marry me or not?"

The audience erupted in cheers.