Chapter 548: How about we start a betting pool?

According to the show's rules, for contestants who didn't get an S-card to advance directly, if they want to stay on this stage, they can only rely on their final voting rankings to see if they can make it into the top eight.

After this episode, the show will only keep seventeen actors.

Of course, the next episode will be even more ruthless—a direct cut in half, leaving only nine people.

That leaves only two to three spots per group.

Truth be told, it really does a good job of reflecting the entertainment industry's ecosystem.

In the entertainment industry, it seems like there are many actors who make it, and audiences always feel like there's a huge crowd of familiar faces.

But compared to the base number, they are ultimately few and far between.

Most people just bob up and down, up and down, and those who manage to have a role that leaves a slight impression on the audience are already considered to be doing quite well.

During the final stage of this episode's recording, while waiting for the voting results, several mentors held a discussion on this topic.

It also served to pad out the show's material.

Er Dongsheng even shared why he transitioned from an actor to behind-the-scenes.

"I was very handsome when I was young, just like..." His eyes swept over, caught sight of Bai Liang, and he pointed a finger, "Just as handsome as him~"

The scene was naturally filled with laughter, but Meng Jie secretly curled her lip.

Hmph! She didn't believe it at all~

"But being an actor gave me no sense of security. The so-called sense of security is the feeling of being able to actively hold your own destiny in your hands, while the professional characteristic of an actor is precisely 'passively' waiting."

Er Dongsheng sighed. He had luck as an actor when he first entered the industry, but he had no luck in picking good scripts.

Actors need good roles, and he never encountered a role that could take him to the next level later on.

What is a good role?

It's like how Chow Yun-fat was once called "box office poison" until he played "Mark" in *A Better Tomorrow* and "Shiphead" in *An Autumn's Tale*; the audience accepted him all at once.

And Er Dongsheng became famous for martial arts films, but he happened to run into the decline of the martial arts genre.

"If you don't have a shoot for a month, you think it's a vacation and feel relaxed; if you don't have a shoot for two months, you're still playing, but your heart starts to feel a bit uneasy; after three months, if no one comes to find you to film, you get very nervous."

At this point, the "Female Buffett" added a few words, saying Director Er was right! She also had it so hard back in the day, blah blah blah.

This wave of chicken soup really had everyone mesmerized, thinking, *So even they have it so "hard"...

But in reality... Er Dongsheng came from a family of performers, and his acting career started on a high note. Not even 20, he played the "Third Young Master" in the film *Death Duel* directed by Chor Yuen and became famous overnight. Afterward, he played the male lead in many Shaw Brothers martial arts films.

Even after transitioning behind the scenes, Er Dongsheng had a high starting point. His debut film as a director, *The Lunatics*, gathered numerous stars and received nominations for Best Film, Best Director, and Best Screenplay at the Hong Kong Film Awards.

As for the Female Buffett, her story of struggle can only be told from before her sophomore year, because after her sophomore year, that show that swept across the country, *My Fair Princess*, came out.

So, stories like these are just for listening; this chicken soup stuff is sometimes poisonous.

"Ahem."

After the first two shared their respective "struggles," Director Chen coughed twice and began to summarize.

"The entertainment industry is just like this. This season of our show does this best: it restores the ecosystem. Roles have to be fought for..."

After Chen Kaige said a few words, he suddenly felt something was not quite right.

Hey~

Bai Liang, who hadn't been quiet before and could even lead the rhythm on set, why was he suddenly silent now?

I don't know if Director Chen's neural pathways were infected by a meme after shouting "Meng Jie."

He suddenly cued Bai Liang, inexplicably saying: "What was it like when you first debuted? You can share it with everyone too~"

Bai Liang, who was busy exchanging glances with Meng Jie, was stunned by these words. "Ah? I was quite smooth. I didn't encounter any difficulties in this line of work; I just kept acting and ended up sitting here."

Damn...

Is this guy humble-bragging?

At this moment, it was Er Dongsheng's gaze that was the most bizarre. The luck he had just talked about—encountering a role that takes you to the next level—was really hard to get, even for contestants with backgrounds, like him. Otherwise, he wouldn't have switched to behind-the-scenes.

But the Bai Liang in front of him was truly exaggerated.

Er Dongsheng had studied this guy's debut career and found it was simply explosive, not just ordinary.

One role and work after another that took him to the next level—it simply never stopped.

Even now, you couldn't say it had stopped; it's just that he really has almost no opponents left, purely breaking through himself.

This kind of luck...

Seeing that everyone insisted he speak, Bai Liang suddenly realized!

Oh~ padding the runtime! Why didn't you say so earlier?

No wonder several mentors were just blabbering on and on.

Fine! Then I'll share the process of acting after debuting.

"I started out doing a part-time job with a friend, playing a small role with no lines..."

That's it!

Smiles subconsciously appeared on everyone's faces, because almost all actors started this way, even the Female Buffett.

The first drama she acted in back then was the Republic-era romance film *Soul Painter*, starring Er Dongsheng and Gong Li. She wasn't even a supporting character; she played a brothel woman with no lines.

And while everyone was smiling, the expression on Meng Jie's face began to look strange.

Because she knew this story; after all, that was where her and Bai Liang's story began.

Sure enough, Bai Liang changed the subject, "I was originally a big extra, but because of some accidents, I became the second male lead."

He actually didn't remember what number lead he played as Lu Bu in *God of War, Zhao Zilong*, but if you check now, he's already moved to the second male lead position, and the spin-off even squeezed out the first female lead, Im Yoon-ah.

It's fortunate that the name of this drama is *God of War, Zhao Zilong*; if it were called something like *Three Kingdoms XX*, I reckon the first male lead, Lin Gengxin, might have had to move back.

But this is the entertainment industry; if Bai Liang had acted in one drama and then vanished, becoming a non-entity in the circle, he might have been moved back too.

And at this point, everyone hearing his words didn't know what to say.

Translate that for me: what do you mean you became the second male lead because of a "small accident," you bastard?

Are you speaking human language?!

The actors who were originally immersed in the "it's not easy" atmosphere created by Er Dongsheng and the Female Buffett now looked at the calm and composed Bai Liang, feeling a particularly strange sense of disparity in their hearts.

It was as if they saw this guy saying calmly: Life, it's as easy as turning over your hand!

Bai Liang wasn't trying to show off; he just didn't like selling misery.

Let alone that he had never really been miserable, even if he had some sad past, he couldn't be bothered to share it with people on a show like this.

He hadn't let the audience participate in his wealth, so naturally, there was no need for them to empathize with his sadness.

If there really is sadness, it's better to share it with a pretty girl; that way, you can keep each other warm, and everyone can have a good time...

Seeing that the atmosphere was a bit off, Director Chen stepped out, "So luck is very important, just like what Director Er said just now. Sometimes this aspect is actually the most important. What do you think?"

"Right! Luck is very important! I just have good luck; there's always someone helping." While Bai Liang echoed this, he wondered why this segment hadn't ended yet. Meng Jie was waiting anxiously!