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

late at night.

Inside a conference room in an office building.

The staff of the "Wandering Diary" program are frantically sifting through a huge number of applications from ordinary people.

"How's it going? Have you found a suitable one?" Wang Zheng looked up, his face somewhat haggard.

The group looked at each other, and finally shook their heads.

"Sigh." Wang Zheng sighed upon seeing this.

The move to search for ordinary people as guests across the entire internet is not an impulsive one—firstly, it generates enough buzz to compensate for the loss of traffic due to the absence of guests.

Secondly, the selection process for ordinary people is not transparent, leaving room for manipulation. With so many applicants, surely a few suitable candidates can be found?

He just didn't expect that after dozens of people in their production team had been flipping through materials for seven or eight hours, and were all dizzy and lightheaded, they still hadn't found their ideal target.

"Let's all keep going and keep searching," Wang Zheng said.

If he can find one, great; if not, he can only consider collaborating with an entertainment company to promote his trainees.

Since the director had spoken, the others had no choice but to continue.

"Director Wang!" The assistant sitting in the corner suddenly exclaimed in a low voice, his voice filled with barely suppressed surprise, "Come and take a look at this!"

The shout immediately drew everyone's attention.

Wang Zheng's spirits lifted immediately. He stood up quickly, walked behind his assistant, and leaned over to look at her computer screen—the application form for an ordinary person named "Cheng Che."

Looking at the impressive information above, Wang Zheng subconsciously touched the back of his head, his eyes shining brightly.

"After flipping through pages for seven or eight hours, I finally got the guaranteed win!"

……

……

The next day, at 8:00 AM.

Cheng Che was awakened by the incessant ringing of his cell phone—

"Tsk." He sat up impatiently, his hair a mess.

Who the hell is calling this so early in the morning? Don't they know that online novel authors don't live in the mortal world?

Because playing the "max-level" account is a bit addictive, he tinkered with musical instruments all night last night, and didn't fall asleep until three or four in the morning. He was woken up by the noise and his resentment was terrifying.

So whoever you are, you better not be making any harassing calls, otherwise, just like how my readers treated me yesterday, I'll treat you the same way later!

"Hello, who is this?" Cheng Che answered the phone.

"Hello, is this Mr. Cheng Che?" A lively female voice came from the other end of the phone.

"It's me. And you are?" Cheng Che rubbed his eyes.

"Hello Mr. Cheng, this is the 'Wandering Diary' program team!"

"After a night of screening and verification by our production team, congratulations on standing out from numerous applicants and becoming a non-celebrity guest for the fourth season of our program!"

"...?"

Cheng Che's sleepiness vanished almost instantly.

He sat up, his mind racing for a few seconds, slightly bewildered.

"Excuse me, what did you just say?" he asked cautiously.

"This is the production team of 'Wandering Diary.' Congratulations on passing our director team's selection process and becoming a non-celebrity guest for the fourth season of our program!"

"You submitted an application to our program yesterday afternoon," the person on the other end of the phone said quickly.

Application process...

Cheng Che successfully remembered that Ms. Lin had asked him to fill out a form yesterday afternoon.

Dude, does that show not use any tricks and just go for the real thing?

"I woke up to find myself a non-celebrity guest on a popular variety show"?

what?

"Um, are you sure you're not mistaken?"

Could it be a scam...? This thought flashed through Cheng Che's mind.

It's no wonder he was suspicious; the odds of it being so low were almost as low as winning the lottery.

"Of course not. The selection of non-celebrity guests is directly handled by Director Wang from our program team. You submitted your application form around 2 PM yesterday," the voice on the phone confirmed with a smile.

"After seeing your information late that night, he immediately decided that you were the 'hidden gem' we'd been looking for!"

"...?" Cheng Che was even more confused.

I admit that your production team has a good eye, being able to pick me, a time traveler, from among the vast sea of ​​people.

But what does the form I filled out have to do with the "treasure"?

"Your show's selection criteria... are really unique." Cheng Che felt something was off, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

That's why everyone says the entertainment industry is a deep and murky place; he, an outsider, can't see through it at all!

"You flatter me. If there are no problems, would you be available now to discuss the contract?" The voice on the other end of the phone brought Cheng Che back to reality.

A contract? Cheng Che was slightly taken aback.

Right, now that we've been selected, we naturally need to discuss appearing on the show.

He suddenly calmed down.

To accept or to refuse?

There doesn't seem to be any reason to refuse.

He filled out the form rather perfunctorily yesterday, mainly because he had a preconceived notion that he couldn't be selected and didn't want to waste time.

But he himself isn't particularly averse to participating in variety shows.

He was already on vacation, and now he has the opportunity to travel at public expense, with celebrities accompanying him. Why wouldn't he take it?

Moreover, in this way, it can be considered that the original owner's dream has been realized to some extent.

Yes, this is a win-win situation—that is, Cheng Che wins twice.

"May I ask some questions before we begin?"

Although he had already decided to agree, Cheng Che was still in no hurry to give his consent.

"What are the recording schedule and cycle for the show, and what are your requirements for me?" he asked.

If there are too many rules and the restrictions are too severe, then he needs to think about it more.

After all, he wants to rest more than any variety show.

"The program will consist of twelve episodes and will be filmed live first and then edited. It will be filmed in four locations, with each location recording for one week and three episodes edited together," the person on the other end of the phone explained quickly and clearly.

"The first three episodes were filmed in Mihai City, Shandong Province, from August 15th to 22nd."

"As for the requirements for you..." The voice on the other end of the phone paused for a moment, "Director Wang instructed that you just need to be yourself and not be restrained because of filming the program."

"So loose?" Cheng Che raised an eyebrow.

"These are Director Wang's exact words. All of the above will be written in black and white in the contract, so you can rest assured," the person on the other end of the phone said.

"I'm fine now," Cheng Che said.

Now that we've come this far, let's wait and see the contract. He's quite familiar with this – he's been writing for a year, achieved three consecutive promotions in author rank, and has negotiated contracts with websites many times.

"The production team will send a draft electronic contract to your email address shortly. A few days later, we will also provide you with a complete paper contract."

"OK."

……

After hanging up the phone, Cheng Che opened his email and, sure enough, saw an email from the "Wandering Diary" program team.

He spent twenty minutes carefully reviewing the contract and found no traps; it was almost exactly as he had described on the phone.

After reading it, Cheng Che scrolled through his phone's contact list, found a lawyer he had worked with before, and asked him to read it carefully again to make sure the contract was in order.

After signing the contract, Cheng Che sat on the edge of the bed, his gaze unconsciously fixed on the distance ahead.

"Something feels off." He touched his chin.

He still didn't understand what Director Wang saw in him... It couldn't be that he wanted him to go on TV and say bad things, could it?

Cheng Che suddenly raised an eyebrow, thinking of a possibility.

So he dialed Ms. Lin's number—

"Feed?" Ms. Lin's voice came through the receiver, with some background noise, like being in a vegetable market.

"Mom, did you touch my registration form yesterday?" Cheng Che asked bluntly.

"I didn't touch it, I just made some minor touches!" Ms. Lin's tone was incredibly natural, even somewhat self-righteous.

"Isn't that movement?!" Cheng Che silently rubbed his forehead.

"Why are you suddenly asking this?" Ms. Lin seemed to realize something, and her tone suddenly became excited.

"Did the production team contact you? Did you get selected?"

"Yes, I was selected." Cheng Che didn't hide anything.

The contract is already signed, so it's good to make her happy.

"Oh! This is wonderful!" Ms. Lin's voice instantly rose eight octaves, her joy almost overflowing from the receiver.

"Perform well on the show and try to carry on their fine traditions! It would be best if you could find me a celebrity daughter-in-law!"

What a wonderful tradition...

Cheng Che knew she was referring to the "Heartbeat Diary" meme, and he wanted to make a sarcastic remark but didn't know what to say.

"That's not important," Cheng Che said. "What exactly did you change on my application form?"

He didn't care whether a fourth couple would be formed on the show; after all, celebrities wouldn't want to create hype with an ordinary person like him.

He only has one thing on his mind right now—

"How else can I change it? Just tell the truth, and write down your author ranking, pen name, representative works..."

Upon hearing the word "pen name," Cheng Che's anxiety finally subsided.