My Wife Is a Superstar (Ning Tan)

Chapter 826

That was why Ye Meng had mixed feelings when she saw Shi Jie, the rising star.

Ning Ran had just debuted a few months ago. When she got Channing's endorsement deal that was supposed to go to Ye Meng, the latter had put up a fight with her, only to fail miserably.

Now, Ning Ran was no longer a rookie, but new talents were being introduced to the public again. With how cruel things worked in the entertainment industry, there was no way Ye Meng would be at ease.

Both Ning Ran and Ye Meng contemplated whether they should take the initiative and greet Shi Jie.

They were all there to film for the show. If they didn't interact at all, it wouldn't be easy for them to bond later.

However, Ye Meng found it difficult to lower herself and greet a junior first.

On the other hand, Ning Ran wasn't too bothered. Although she was a few years older than Shi Jie, some people still considered her a rookie in the industry. After all, it hadn't been long since she got the Best Newcomer Award.

However, since Ye Meng didn't make a move, Ning Ran stayed still as well. She didn't want Ye Meng to accuse her of riding on a rising star's coattails.

Fortunately, Shi Jie walked over to them on his own. “Hello, Ms. Ye, Ms. Ding.”

This was the first time Ning Ran and Shi Jie had met each other. As Ning Ran had been embroiled in various problems and incidents in the past few months, she didn't have the energy to pay attention to what was going on in the entertainment industry. She wasn't even aware of the birth of a superstar like Shi Jie.

“Hello, Shi. Long time no see,” responded Ye Meng with a smile.

Ning Ran also smiled faintly and nodded. “Hello.”

That was the only thing she could say. There was nothing to talk about since they didn't have any previous encounters, and Ning Ran did not see the need to make small talk.

“Ms. Ding, I love your show. When it started showing, I tuned in every day. Even when I finished work late at night, I made sure to watch the latest episode before going to sleep,” Shi Jie chirped.

Ning Ran did not expect to hear that. She was pleasantly surprised to find out that Shi Jie was a fan of hers.

“Oh, really? Thank you for liking it. Actually, The Sound of Thunder 2 is the only show I've formally acted in so far. I don't have many works on my filmography. I'm just a rookie,” said Ning Ran humbly.

Shi Jie complimented, “The fact that you impressed everyone with just one show means you're really good. It's useless to be on too many projects. What's most important is having a movie or show you're known for.”

There was nothing wrong with what he said, but a dark look flashed across Ye Meng's face.

While Shi Jie did not intend to allude to her, Ye Meng couldn't help but assume those words were about her.

She had been in a lot of shows, but aside from her Jetroinian movie that gained popularity because of her nude scenes, her other works received lukewarm responses. Ye Meng was the type of actress who had a long list of filmography but no memorable work.

In truth, this was not wholly Ye Meng's fault. It was just how the entertainment industry worked. Once a celebrity went viral, they had to accept offers as much as they could and participate in all kinds of shows and events.

If they didn't make money while their career was at its peak, no one would spare a glance at them once their popularity died down.

Since their goal was to earn money, they couldn't possibly be picky about their work. They just acted in whatever shows they were offered.

If one tried to recall the career history of those celebrities who were popular across the entire country, one would only remember rumors and gossip about them but not the works they were in.

Ning Ran could see the stiffness in Ye Meng's expression, but she wasn't sure how to resolve the awkwardness.

Despite his huge popularity, Shi Jie was still young. He wasn't shrewd enough yet to consider the feelings of everyone around him when he spoke. He was totally unaware of Ye Meng's predicament.

Just then, Tang Jing came over. “Shi, you've been dominating the trending topics every day lately,” she remarked.

Shi Jie did not know who Tang Jing was. As he stared at her blankly, yet another moment of awkward silence took place.

To save Tang Jing from embarrassment, Ning Ran grinned and introduced, “This is Tang Jing, one of the most important members of our cast. She's known among the circle for her academic achievements. She even has a doctorate degree in performing arts.”

“Wow! Please forgive me for my disrespect. I'm actually planning to apply for a film academy, but I'm not sure if I'll get accepted,” Shi Jie said.

Tang Jing gave Ning Ran a look of gratitude to thank the latter for breaking the awkwardness.

Then she said, “You're already so popular. Does it matter what major you study?”

“No. I just gained popularity thanks to my fans. I still have a lot to learn.” Surprisingly, Shi Jie was quite down-to-earth.

It was rare for someone to uphold this attitude after achieving great fame at a young age.

At that moment, the program director, Jiang Yang, approached them. He shook hands with everyone and thanked them for coming to the shoot.

“It's our first meeting today, so let's get to know each other first and break the ice. Why don't each of you showcase your talents first?” Jiang Yang prompted.

That was when the celebrities realized the cameras were already rolling.

They had thought they would begin once they were fully prepared, so the sudden commencement of filming made everyone feel lost.

Moreover, they were only told that the representatives of the two participating production teams would be competing with each other. Nothing about a talent showcase was brought up, so none of them were prepared.

The only person with the upper hand was Shi Jie, a boy group member who debuted on a survival show. He still remembered the songs and dances he had practiced for that show, so he could just choose from one of them and perform that.

Shi Jie came forward and volunteered, “I'm the youngest, so I'll go first. I'm looking forward to enjoying the seniors' performances after my humble performance.”

With that, he began to dance. As Ye Meng said, his dancing was so-so. One could tell at a glance that he did not have a solid foundation, but since he was young, he was energetic throughout the performance.

Indeed, it was great to be young. Shi Jie was not out of breath even after dancing to a song.

Everyone gave him a warm round of applause.

“Who wants to go next?” the director asked.

The talent showcase was not part of the script, and the show's production team did not notify the participants in advance. It was literally a surprise, but it was nothing strange.

To get more candid reactions out of celebrities, the show's production team would often arrange some surprise segments aside from what was indicated in the script and make celebrities perform without any preparations.

To the artists who debuted as singers, this was not much of a problem. Since that was their expertise, they could just do what they usually did and impress others.

On the contrary, this posed a huge challenge to people like Ning Ran and Tang Jing, who solely depended on their acting skills.

With her spare time used to raising her kids, Ning Ran did not have the time to practice other skills.

Aside from Shi Jie, the other celebrities exchanged awkward glances. No one was willing to step forward.

After a while, Tang Jing piped up, “Shi went first because he's the youngest. This means we're going in order of age, starting from the youngest, right? If that's the case, is it Gui's turn now?”

“Yes, it's her turn now,” the crowd agreed as they turned their attention to Chen Gui.

Feeling a bit nervous, Chen Gui said, “All right, then. I'll perform a dance too. I'm not very good at dancing, so please don't laugh at me.” Têxt belongs to NôvelDrama.Org.

Thereafter, she showcased a folk dance that stunned everybody.

Her dancing skills were exemplary.

Compared to Shi Jie, she had a much better foundation. Everyone was surprised to find that a student who majored in acting had such strong fundamentals in dancing.

When Chen Gui was done, she could see from everyone's expressions that her performance was great. Naturally, she felt a little proud.

“Gui, your moves look so professional. Did you receive dance lessons before?” asked Tang Jing.

“Yes. I used to study dance before I enrolled in the film academy,” Chen Gui answered with a smile.

Hearing that, Ning Ran couldn't help but think that Chen Gui already had a head start on them.