I turned reality into a romantic comedy.

Warlock: And my magic too!

Pastor: And my healing!

Necromancer: And your brother too!

As for why I suddenly thought of this joke, it's mainly because the situation is indeed somewhat similar.

Chen Junqian: I'm going to Beijing to participate in a competition!

Lin Mu: Bring me my origami cranes; they will bring you good luck!

Chen Xi: And my bracelet!

Gu Linguo: And my badge!

Zhu Wenyun: I still have myself!

...But thinking about it this way, it seems there's more than one necromancer in the team.

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The journey to Beijing was quite peaceful. The plane didn't experience any unexpected incidents in the air, contrary to what some literary girl had imagined. It carried them smoothly from Nanjing to Beijing from beginning to end. The two of them flipped through Chinese dictionaries on the plane, reviewing some unfamiliar words and phrases. It felt like they had arrived at their destination in no time.

The production team had prepared hotels for all the participating teams from across the country. Chen Junqian and Zhu Wenyun's situation was a bit special. On the one hand, they were training partners for the Anhui team, and on the other hand, they were contestants participating in the live Q&A session with a group of 100 people. After Teacher Zhang communicated with the production team, they were able to get an extra room.

However, it was definitely unrealistic to have them share a room, as there were also male players in the Anhui team. So in the end, Chen Junqian was arranged to share a room with the male players on the team, while Zhu Wenyun was arranged to share a room with the female players on the team.

After resolving the room issue, Chen Junqian moved in with his luggage. The students who came here to participate in the Chinese character dictation competition were all junior high school students from all over the country. So, although most of the students stayed quietly in their rooms to prepare for the competition after checking in, some of the more outgoing students were visiting other rooms and greeting people. He chatted with some people for a bit and easily found out which floor the Zhejiang team was staying on.

However, it was a little disappointing that the Zhejiang team hadn't arrived yet, and the rooms were all empty. Unable to see Shen Nianqiu right away, Chen Junqian simply found a spot in the lobby on the first floor of the hotel, flipping through his Chinese dictionary to review his notes while waiting for his sister.

After packing her own luggage, Zhu Wenyun followed and sat down next to him.

"It's so beautiful."

"Huh? What?"

"look."

Following the direction Zhu Wenyun pointed, Chen Junqian also curiously turned his gaze over. It turned out to be a team from Inner Mongolia and Yunnan provinces. The main players who walked in chatting and laughing were wearing very distinctive ethnic costumes, which were indeed eye-catching.

The program team didn't impose any restrictions on the costumes for the provincial teams participating in this dictation competition. As a result, some provinces designed a set of team uniforms that were very characteristic of their province. Although the Anhui team also designed one, it didn't have such a distinct ethnic flavor. However, it was still better than many provinces that allowed students to wear school uniforms on stage.

According to the photos Shen Nianqiu sent earlier, the Zhejiang team also designed a set of team uniforms. The girls' shirts featured local Shaoxing opera costumes, while the boys' shirts featured the Quyuan Fenghe and Huagang Guanyu scenes from the Ten Scenes of West Lake. They were quite nice.

Chen Junqian and Zhu Wenyun, being unofficial members, naturally didn't receive this treatment, so they simply wore their usual casual clothes. The main reason was that the hundred-person team wasn't like the regular members, where they might not even get a single shot in a game. Rather than worrying about that, they decided to focus their energy on answering the questions.

"If we make it to the finals, what would you like to wear, Yun?"

"I haven't decided yet, what about you?"

"As for me, I'll probably wear Ningzhong's school uniform. If all goes well, our club will be able to participate in all kinds of activities at school for the next two years without any problems."

"Oh, you know that's a trick? But I didn't bring my school uniform. I'll think about it when we get to the finals, or I can just buy a set here in Beijing."

After chatting for a while, the two finally saw the Zhejiang team arrive late, and they immediately spotted Shen Nianqiu, who stood out the most among them.

Schools are never short of students who excel academically and those who are good-looking, but those who combine both are rare. Shen Nianqiu is one of the best. Although she no longer practices dance, which she has been practicing for six or seven years, her posture and figure are still outstanding among her peers. She does not have the hunched back that students her age have started to develop. Coupled with the bright smile on her face, she attracted the attention of the other delegations from various provinces who were checking in in the lobby as soon as she appeared. They began to whisper about her background.

"Sister, over here."

He raised his hand and waved to Shen Nianqiu twice. After saying this, Chen Junqian got up from his seat and walked over, naturally taking the suitcase she was dragging.

Because of the "sister" just now, the other members of the Zhejiang team who were traveling with Shen Nianqiu, including the team members and the team leader, subconsciously thought that this was really Shen Nianqiu's younger brother. Moreover, seeing Shen Nianqiu herself smiling and handing over her suitcase to the other person without any politeness, the relationship between the two siblings seemed to be quite good.

After briefly introducing Chen Junqian to the other students and teachers around her, Shen Nianqiu then found Zhu Wenyun, who was still sitting on a chair in the hall. She pointed her chin at Zhu Wenyun aggressively before casually looking away.

Regarding Shen Nianqiu's blatant underhanded tactics, Zhu Wenyun suddenly understood how Lin Mu felt during the 2010 World Expo. However, her mindset was much better than when the two met in Hefei. Chen Junqian had been coaxing her a lot in Guoning these past few days, so she decided to ignore it and continue reading after glancing at it briefly, emphasizing that they would see the results on the field.

Tomorrow is the first match of the semi-finals.

The Zhejiang team was one of the four teams that participated in the first match.

No rush.

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Since none of them were staying in single rooms, there were naturally no strange night raids. Moreover, all three of them had to go to the studio to participate in the competition the next day, so the first night in Beijing was quite peaceful for Chen Junqian. After waking up the next day, he was full of energy and went to the recording site with the team leader.

The 100-person group for this year's dictation competition was mainly composed of students who had been eliminated from various provinces. Since the first letter of Anhui's name is A, not only were the five official members of their provincial team numbered 001 to 005, but Chen Junqian and Zhu Wenyun in the 100-person group also received the first two numbers, the former being 001 and the latter 002, and they were seated in the first row closest to the stage.

Putting aside his previous experience interviewing at a small local TV station in Guoning, this was indeed Chen Junqian's first time at the recording site of such a large-scale program. After politely confirming his identity with the staff, receiving his number, and taking his seat, Chen Junqian encouraged Zhu Wenyun, who was sitting next to him and separated by a partition, and then sat there properly, waiting for the recording to officially begin.

The four teams that took the stage on the first day of the semi-finals were from Zhejiang, Xinjiang, Henan, and Guizhou. As the audience, consisting of local Beijing middle school students, retired seniors, media workers, and others, entered the venue, all four teams also took to the center of the stage. After being introduced by the host and gesturing to the cameras and audience below, the first semi-finals kicked off swiftly.

Unlike the final program that viewers in front of the television can see, the recording of the Chinese Character Dictation Competition is actually quite slow-paced. After all, the production team needs a lot of excellent material to edit into an entertaining program. In other words, even a cultural promotion program like this needs to achieve the so-called "program effect".

What surprised Chen Junqian first was that the stage didn't actually see the many first-round eliminations he had seen before. After all, these were all top students selected from their respective provinces, and the first two questions weren't too difficult. It was just that the program team edited the footage to make it look like a first-round elimination when it was broadcast. After all, the length of each episode of the Chinese Character Dictation Competition is strictly controlled within two hours, so those contestants without any highlights will naturally be eliminated cleanly and efficiently.

As for how to define whether a contestant has highlights, there are basically three points. First, their personal strength is indeed outstanding, and they can answer correctly all the way to the end. Second, they have an outstanding image and are more photogenic. Chen Junqian himself remembers that in the second season, the program team even added an international team, and had one of the beautiful female team members go on stage with full makeup. As for the third, it is naturally related to the program team. Chen Junqian has also heard a lot of true and false rumors in this regard.

If you want to promote a player, then the effect presented is a video.

That's right. Just like the show "If You Are the One" that Chen Junqian and Lin Mu watched together before, the Chinese Character Dictation Competition also includes a VCR segment when introducing the contestants. Through interviews with the contestants, their teachers, and their friends, the contestants are presented and introduced to the audience in a comprehensive way. For example, Liu Yichen from the Zhejiang team was favored by the program team this year and led the entire team to revive and advance to the next round in the semi-finals and the semi-finals. Another example is Shen Nianqiu, who joined the Zhejiang team because of the influence of his rebirth.

According to her sister, her video had already been filmed, but whether it truly reflected her real self and her student life was another matter entirely.

But for now, we should try our best to answer all the questions correctly.

[Axe], [Swaddled Baby], [Capricorn]...

"The accuracy rate of the 100-person team in this round was 37 percent."

【Pixiu】, 【Taotie】, 【Yazi】...

"The accuracy rate of the 100-person team in this round was 11%."

Then, there is a rather obscure four-character phrase related to a place name.

Pixian Douban (Pixian chili bean paste)

"The accuracy rate of the 100-person team in this round was 11%."

Then, another four-character phrase.

Sibling rivalry

"The accuracy rate of the 100-person team in this round was seven percent."

One by one, the main players left the field, and the hundred-person team off the field also fell into a tough battle. Even Zhu Wenyun, who was originally full of confidence, began to click his tongue and shake his head more and more frequently. After all, they were different from the players on the stage who only had to go on stage once per round. They had to answer every question in a row, which made the pressure even greater.

【荦荦大端 (luò luò dà duān) is a metaphor for the main items or obvious key points.】

"The accuracy rate of the 100-person team in this round was one percent."

As another selected team member left the stage in disappointment, backstage at the studio, the program director turned his attention for the first time to the boy numbered 001 sitting at the front. He glanced at the boy's 100% accuracy rate so far, and then at the elegant and unrestrained handwriting on the boy's answer board, which matched his personality perfectly.

After a moment's hesitation, he finally gave instructions to his assistant beside him:

"Contact the student's school and ask them to film a new personal introduction video. Send it over in a packaged file by this Saturday."

P.S.: Thank you for reading and subscribing.

PS2: I have something to do tomorrow morning, so the update will be postponed to the afternoon. This is to let you know.

Chapter 44: So how many small groups can seven people form? (Part 2)

For Lin Mu, who is in Guoning, if her experiences over the past two days were filmed in the style of the four-minute short drama "Unexpectedly," which will be released on Youku a month later, the effect would probably be similar.

Um, my name is Lin Mu, and today is the third day since my childhood sweetheart left Guoning for Beijing.

Just as I was waiting for the show the other person was participating in to air, I never expected that my homeroom teacher would call me back to school. Why do I have to go back to school when it's summer vacation? But she said it was related to Chen Junqian, so I went anyway.

Then, I received a completely unexpected message from the other party.

"A short video clip related to Qianqian?"

"Yes, our school principal told me personally that it's because Junqian performed very well in the first semi-final, and the production team is going to 'promote' him. So they asked us to temporarily film a VCR related to him, which will be edited into the official program."

Lin Mu, who still seemed to understand but not quite, nodded and then shook his head.

"So what exactly needs to be done?"

"Chen Junqian's personal interview and self-introduction will be reshot on set by the production team. Our role here is mainly to supplement his views as his teacher and classmate, and enrich his character. By the way, Lin Mu, if you have any suitable video materials about him, you can also provide them. Maybe the production team will select them."

Although he was already in his thirties or forties, Mr. Wang, Chen Junqian's homeroom teacher and history teacher, seemed quite familiar with these rules and patiently explained them to Lin Mu.

"What kind of suitable video footage?"

"Hmm, let me think. Didn't Junqian win the first prize in the provincial essay competition before? He also received a commendation from the city for his act of bravery when he was in elementary school, and he even gave a speech at the anniversary celebration of the elementary school you attended before. These materials are actually quite suitable. He is a model student of the new era with both excellent character and academic performance."

Reminded by Teacher Wang, Lin Mu finally realized what was going on. However, she didn't really have much experience in this area. The video materials related to Chen Junqian were mostly photos of the two of them traveling together. As for what Teacher Wang mentioned, she certainly remembered them, but she couldn't seem to come up with anything specific.

Seemingly noticing Lin Mu's embarrassment, Teacher Wang chuckled again:

"If there isn't any, that's fine. I'll find the reports and news from that time myself. Lin Mu, you just need to appear in the VCR as Junqian's classmate and friend. As for the evaluation, just give some praise. I don't think I need to teach you that."

"Okay! I understand, thank you, teacher."

After receiving the news from Teacher Wang, Lin Mu immediately shared it with Xu Youwei, Chen Xi, and Gu Linguo, who were also in Guoning. After all, they must be just as worried about Chen Junqian's situation as she was. The only regret was that they couldn't appear on camera together to cheer for Qianqian.

However, according to Teacher Wang, if Chen Junqian can continue to perform well in the subsequent competitions, and even become one of the top three in the overall score of the 100-person team to enter the final, then he will probably have another chance, whether it is for interviews or VCR filming.

With that in mind, Lin Mu, who had access to everyone's QQ friends list, simply created another group and invited the other three girls in as well, so as to avoid sending them individual private messages.

To Lin Mu's surprise, right after she finished explaining the matter, Gu Lingguo immediately tagged Xu Youwei.

"Does Sister Xu Youwei have any clues about the video materials that Sister Lin Mu mentioned earlier?"

Xu Youwei, who was alone in her rural hometown, in the secret base she and Chen Junqian had built together, was lying in bed when she saw the message tagging her and was also subconsciously stunned for a moment.

"What do you mean?"

"Hmm? I thought Sister Xu Youwei would have one, after all, in the whole of Guoning, besides Sister Lin Mu, you and Brother are the closest."

She felt that the other person was implying something, but the sentence did indeed please Xu Youwei, so after thinking for a moment, she retyped and replied:

"I don't have all of them, but I did keep a copy of the photo of Junqian when he won first prize for his essay. And then there's the speech at the school anniversary celebration, which I recorded in its entirety."

Of course, there are more than these, but it would be a bit strange to mention the others, so Hsu Yu-wei only selectively mentioned two of them.

"That's great! Weiwei is such a help. I'll go talk to Teacher Wang right away and ask Weiwei to upload the file to our group chat later. Thank you!"

Lin Mu, without giving it much thought, was quite pleased with Xu Youwei's reply, while the two children who were sticking together exchanged a knowing glance, revealing expressions of "I knew it."

However, Xu Youwei was unaware that she had been targeted by the two of them. She chuckled at her best friend Lin Mu's predictable reaction, then put her phone aside and lay on the bed where the two of them had once slept together for a night, staring blankly at the ceiling.

Although Lin Mu himself had just said that everyone would have a chance in the future, at this moment, seeing Lin Mu happily preparing to participate in the VCR filming, Xu Youwei still felt a little unbalanced and envious.