I'm a web novelist, and you want me to work in the entertainment industry?

Shortly after dinner, in accordance with the rules, the guests took turns casting their anonymous votes.

"Dear teachers, we will announce the voting results tomorrow morning after we verify them." The assistant, holding the ballot box, explained the situation to the six guests.

"The production team will not schedule any more segments after dinner. You are all free to arrange your time as you wish." After saying that, she left with her suitcase.

The clock on the wall points to 7:40.

It was too early to go back to the room to sleep. After clearing the table, everyone had nothing to do, so they gathered in twos and threes in the living room, with the seating arrangement the same as in the afternoon.

"Huh? Where's Teacher Yan?" Xia Ziyi leaned against the sofa armrest and looked around.

All six guests were in the living room at this time, but Yan Lei was nowhere to be seen.

"He went back to his room, saying he had some urgent business to attend to," Xu Anan explained from the side.

"I see." Xia Ziyi nodded.

The living room was quiet for a while.

Then, from the depths of the first-floor corridor, a muffled sound of flushing water could be faintly heard.

Rumble—

Not long after the sound of flushing, Yan Lei walked out from the other end of the corridor, his face calm and his pace unhurried, as if he had just finished an important task.

"Hmm? Everyone's here?" He looked around the living room, sat down in the center of the sofa, picked up the thermos on the coffee table, and blew on it to blow away the non-existent heat.

"Is Teacher Yan finished with her work?" Xia Ziyi asked casually.

"Yes, I've dealt with a minor issue." Yan Lei took a sip of tea without changing his expression.

Xia Ziyi blinked upon hearing this.

Xu Anan picked up her water glass, lowered her head and took a sip, her movements and expression both composed.

Shen Han smiled, but his legs unconsciously came together.

Tian Xiwei coughed lightly, turned her gaze to the window, and looked at the deep sea that had completely darkened. Her expression seemed to say, "Hmm, this sea is really a sea!"

Cheng Che scratched his head nonchalantly, thinking to himself that Teacher Yan was also a talented player!

The comments section erupted in laughter instantly:

[Hahaha, I have something urgent to attend to.]

[No problem, it's rare for Teacher Yan to tell the truth. How can going to the toilet not be considered an emergency?]

This is Yan Lei, the king of trash talk in "Wandering Diary." Do you dare to look him in the eye for more than three seconds?

[Serves him right! That fatso dared to deliberately target Hanhan; he deserved it!]

[The person upstairs reminded me, why isn't Shen Han going to the toilet? He's really good at holding it in.]

"Since we're just killing time anyway, why don't we have a chat?"

As the most senior and experienced person present, despite having just experienced an awkward little incident, Yan Lei still naturally stepped forward to take control of the situation.

"Speaking of which, Xiao Cheng is the only non-celebrity guest on our show, right?" He looked at Cheng Che.

Cheng Che nodded: "Yes."

"Then we know far too little about you." Yan Lei chuckled and glanced around at the others. "I bet you're all curious too, right?"

"Curious!" Xia Ziyi immediately raised her hand, appearing exceptionally enthusiastic.

The others nodded in agreement—they were genuinely curious about Cheng Che, the non-celebrity guest who had been formally selected by the production team.

Selecting guests for variety shows is no trivial matter.

What is it about this person that makes them stand out from tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of applicants?

Teacher Yan has finally done something good!

[That makes sense! Let alone the guests, I'm curious too!]

[Huh? Everyone else nodded, but why does Shen Han's expression seem a little strange?]

"Then I'll ask a question first!" Xia Ziyi sat up straight, looking ready to ask a serious question. "Teacher Cheng—"

"Uh, well..." She suddenly paused, blinking her eyes, "What's your name again, Cheng something?"

The living room was quiet for a second, then burst into laughter.

Xu Anan burst out laughing, Tian Xiwei covered her face, and even Yan Lei shook his head and laughed.

The comments section was even more merciless:

[Hahahaha, my Xia-jie is still performing consistently well!]

This afternoon I thought Sister Xia had learned her lesson, but now it seems she's still that same silly beauty, unchanged.

[Comic Book: We have the epitome of pure innocence, the epitome of sweetness, and the epitome of silliness. Which one do you like?]

Why do children make choices? I want them all!

Cheng Che couldn't help but laugh: "My name is Cheng Che, Cheng of Hemu, and Che of Qingche (clear)."

"Oh, Cheng Che..." Xia Ziyi repeated, as if trying to etch the two words into her mind. "Okay, I'll remember this time."

"Hmm, how old are you this year?" she asked again.

"Twenty-three," Cheng Che replied.

"Oh, then she's two years younger than me." Xia Ziyi nodded, then turned to Xu Anan, "I've finished asking. Anan, why don't you ask her?"

Xu Anan didn't refuse, raising her hand to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear, and turned her gaze to Cheng Che:

"Teacher Cheng Che, I remember the keyword the program team gave you was 'literature'? I usually enjoy reading and I'm quite interested in that."

Are you working in a text-related field?

Tian Xiwei turned her head slightly and looked at Cheng Che—among everyone present, she was probably the only one who knew Cheng Che's profession.

"I guess so," Cheng Che said. "I write online novels."

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone except Tian Xiwei showed an "I see" expression.

[So Cheng Che is an online novelist? I just found out.]

[You weren't in live stream room number four this afternoon, were you? The staff asked that, and Xiaotian knew!]

"Hey!" Xia Ziyi suddenly remembered something and slapped her thigh. "Speaking of online novels, wasn't there an online novel author who made it into the top ten trending topics a few days ago?"

"That person wouldn't be you, would it?" she asked excitedly.

Xia Ziyi's words were like a key, instantly unlocking everyone's thinking, and they all turned to look at Cheng Che.

You know what, that possibility is actually quite high.

After all, if Cheng Che had been in the top ten trending topics, then it would make perfect sense for him to be chosen by Wang Zheng as a non-celebrity guest.

Cheng Che appeared calm on the surface, but his heart skipped a beat as he frantically tried to figure out how to get out of this mess.

Fortunately, at this moment, the savior appeared—

"Hey! I can tell you about this." Yan Lei joined the conversation. "The author Xia Xia mentioned, is called 'Zero'?"

Xia Ziyi thought for a moment and nodded.

"Then that's it." Yan Lei's face showed a confident smile like that of the Dragon King. "Speaking of which, I know this guy 'Zero.' I even had drinks with him a few days before the show started filming."

"He's a few years younger than me, but his belly is bigger than mine."

"To be honest, I bear some responsibility for killing off that character—I told him that tragedies are more easily remembered, which is why he did it."

Yan Lei shook his head, looking utterly disappointed.

He spoke fluently, completely unaware that Cheng Che's gaze, not far away, was slowly turning strange.

Does Teacher Yan know "Zero"?

But it seems that "Zero" himself has never heard of this...

Oh no, I've become a stand-in?

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

P.S.: The characters' dialogue is for the sake of the plot; please do not take it personally.