Chapter 523: Continue Turtle Soup (8,000 Character Update!)

The show "The Birth of an Actor" will certainly generate a lot of controversy.

For instance, acting skills cannot be objectively measured through a mere dozen-minute segment on such a stage.

For instance, actors with strong camera sense might suffer many disadvantages performing on this stage.

For instance, comparing acting skills through a PK format will definitely cause a lot of trouble.

But Lu Yanhe has always believed that nothing in this world is without negative consequences. If one wants to accomplish something perfectly without flaw, one might as well do nothing at all.

The show "The Birth of an Actor" is absolutely a presence where the benefits outweigh the drawbacks for many actors today.

For instance, young actors who want a stage to hone their acting skills, actors who want an opportunity to showcase their good acting, actors who haven't found a suitable script yet but want to maintain exposure...

Before, Lu Yanhe always had some doubts in his heart, wondering if such a program oversimplified acting too much. Now thinking about it, whether something is superficial sometimes doesn't depend on the thing itself, but on whether you treat it superficially.

Lu Yanhe suddenly had an idea for a variety show, which was a rare occurrence.

Aurora Video attached quite a bit of importance to it.

Not only did Aurora Video attach importance to it; after learning the news, Yuehu TV also actively reached out immediately.

Aurora Video had long witnessed Lu Yanhe's capability in program creativity. Until now, the show "Rooftop Confession" is no longer as attractive as it was at the start, yet due to its extremely low production costs, it still ranks among the programs with the highest return on investment.

A good program idea, once executed in one go, truly becomes making money while lying down by the end.

And Yuehu TV reaching out, to be honest, was just to maintain their relationship with Lu Yanhe.

Lu Yanhe's talent in producing programs is not actually very famous within the industry.

However, when they learned of Lu Yanhe's ideas regarding this program, they were all stunned.

Because Lu Yanhe's idea was indeed earth-shattering.

Bringing already famous actors onto a stage to compete in acting PK?

Are you crazy?

Who would come?

But putting that aside, if this program could really be filmed, it would definitely be a topic-generating work and would certainly attract a huge number of people to watch this show.

The difficulty with this idea lies in the execution.

However, with Lu Yanhe and Chen Ziyan's connections, Yuehu TV's power, and Aurora Video's power, wouldn't these three combined be able to find enough actors for this program?

Most crucially, this program has the potential for a massive explosion. In the entertainment circle, you can lose face, but you cannot stay unpopular forever.

After the initial surprise and confusion, Aurora Video and Yuehu TV began to savor the huge potential of this program.

Everyone is in this line of work; if they don't even have the nose to spot the potential of a hot program, they should just change careers.

Because a unified consensus was reached, this program was pushed forward very quickly.

The program needs to find three mentors; they must be big enough names, have persuasiveness, not only possess influence and status within the industry, but also make the audience know at a glance that they are qualified to sit here and critique others.

For others, securing such big shots is very difficult, with some even requiring three visits to a thatched cottage, but for Lu Yanhe, it is a very simple matter.

In the few years since his debut, not to mention anything else, he has really collaborated with many big shots.

Among directors, there are TV drama directors like Luo Yuzhong and Chen Lingling, and film giants like Wang Zhong and Liu Bige. Although Liu Bige has only directed one film, his first film won a major award, with results that are rock-solid.

Among actors, the two senior brothers and sisters Shang Yongzhou and Chen Bige can be said to be the absolute ceiling of actors with persuasiveness. Regarding national popularity, the comedy ceiling Jia Long is also an old acquaintance. Besides them, there is a large crowd of actor friends like Jiang Jun, Huang Kairen, Bao Zhenzhu, Liu Zi, and Zeng Qiao who could come as flying mentors.

Rounding up people, Lu Yanhe is a professional.

Lu Yanhe and Chen Ziyan discussed it and set a preliminary invitation list.

As for the competition format, Lu Yanhe felt the simpler, the better. Lu Yanhe felt the format of the original first season was the clearest and most entertaining: two-by-two PK, fighting in pairs, and finally selecting a champion. Because this is not a serious competition; the competition is just the form, the core is to let the audience discover that there are actually so many actors whose acting is quite good.

Thinking carefully, how many actors opened up their fame from this program, or saw a huge leap in their fame and industry image?

Xin Zhilei's first major explosion was not "Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace"; at this time, that drama had not aired yet. Her PK with Shu Chang in this program was full of fireworks at the time, but in terms of results, there was no loser—no one knows why Shu Chang didn't restart her second spring as an actor under such heat at that time. Clearly, at that time, Shu Chang had both reputation and heat.

Not to mention the classic case where Mr. Zhou was spotted at a glance by Ms. Zhang, a carp leaping over the dragon gate. Many people say his TV drama with Ms. Zhang was a failed ascension, but just look: after this program, until now, how many lead roles has he acted in? Those are roles he could never reach before.

Peng Yuchang already had a small name at the time, but when participating in the program, he was still a bit weak. He didn't even think about advancing, but after one scene, he stood out. Later, he was recommended by Ms. Zhang to Zhang Yibai. Not saying he directly reached the sky in one step, but his career definitely took a huge leap forward.

Lu Yanhe thought that the success of the first season was because on that stage, there were topics, there were PKs, even farces and fights, including many famous scenes, such as the program's masterpiece: Ant Race and Haiwa. But the core of the core, those who advanced on this stage in the end, always relied on acting skills.

Regardless of whether there was really a dark deal, at least in this program, the actors who came out all relied on acting skills to build steadily.

Then, for him to make "The Birth of an Actor," this point must also be insisted upon.

Actors coming to participate in the program, you may not have acted before, you may be the king of bad movies, or you may be a strong topic generator; it doesn't matter. The program needs gimmicks, needs topics, needs traffic; this is an objective fact. But there is one point: the program must be fair. You cannot become a royal family member and be guaranteed a spot just because you are good at causing trouble and making a scene. You cannot have a talisman just because you are a connection of someone.

Lu Yanhe has a good impression of this program for many reasons. One place is that the original female lead daughter from our "My Own Swordsman" participated, and after taking the stage to perform, the judges' evaluations can be said to really not give face, very daring to speak, just as daring as Ms. Zhang throwing her shoe—

A program, if it is made to be extremely high-brow, with only powerhouse actors performing on it, absolutely won't have that many people watching. It must have both powerhouse actors and idol actors, someone crying on stage about how difficult their acting path is, and someone responding to plastic surgery, acting like a diva, and other scandals on stage. Only then is the program flashy enough to attract attention and explode massively. But causing trouble is fine; mutual flattery and telling lies with eyes open is what disgusts the audience.

"The Birth of an Actor" exposed various problems in its later stages, but at least regarding the quality of acting, it held the bottom line and did not call a deer a horse.

"Sister Zhiyin, I think you can come and play."

When Lu Yanhe was recording the fifth season of "Young Days," he sent an invitation to Liu Zhiyin.

Liu Zhiyin was stunned.

"Ah? Me? I haven't acted in anything, can I go?"

"Precisely because you haven't acted in anything, you can go completely without burden," Lu Yanhe said. "If you don't act well, everyone will be more tolerant of you; after all, you are a singer."

"Then won't I be directly eliminated?" Liu Zhiyin asked.

Lu Yanhe smiled and said: "If you are eliminated in an acting competition program, everyone will think it's normal and won't think you are incapable. On the contrary, if you have an incredible performance that exceeds everyone's expectations, you will also receive more applause."

Liu Zhiyin: "Why do I feel like you are just fooling me? Although I am already a bit tempted by your fooling."

Lu Yanhe laughed and said: "Because a new program needs attention and also needs freshness. I hope this program has contestants of various types. You are the most suitable contestant in the cross-over type; very popular, famous, have tried acting, but don't have much experience yet, making people full of expectation."

Liu Zhiyin pondered for a moment and said: "I have to go back and consider it seriously. It's not that I don't want to agree to you; it's that I really dare not step onto that stage."

"Understood, Sister Zhiyin, I'll wait for you to contact me." Lu Yanhe winked at Liu Zhiyin. "There is another benefit to you participating in this program."

"What benefit?" Liu Zhiyin asked.

"Because you are interested in acting but have no experience, so you dare not easily take on heavy roles, basically only doing cameos," Lu Yanhe said. "On this stage, although the performance time might only be a dozen minutes, a segment, in that segment, you are the protagonist, and the drama is all on you. You don't need to test whether you have the talent to be an actor through a formal shooting work; coming to this program, you can feel it. There will be professional performance guidance teachers to guide your acting, first-line Screenwriter teachers to customize scripts for you, and the best mentors to evaluate your performance."

Liu Zhiyin took a deep breath.

"You are really too bad; you are tempting me like this!"

Lu Yanhe laughed.

Recording "Young Days" again with everyone, Lu Yanhe was very happy.

Because they were all too familiar with each other.

This familiarity was born from time spent together; they knew each other's situations over the past few years, with no sense of strangeness at all.

Also, because everyone hadn't met for a long time, on the first day, no tasks or games were scheduled; they were simply allowed to move about freely.

By the fifth season of a show, there was actually little need to do too much in terms of formalities.

Just these old acquaintances sitting together and talking would be very interesting and would attract many viewers.

And they hadn't seen each other in a long time; finally, they could sit together and chat properly.

This meeting was, in fact, the best possible time.

Everyone's career development was going very well; no one was struggling or unfulfilled.

No one needed to have any reservations.

Peng Zhixing, besides his own "Zhixing" talk show, had also appeared on many other programs.

He was not the type of host with many witty lines or who was very funny, but he gave people a relaxed feeling; plus, since he was quite handsome himself, he had quite a few appearance-based fans.

Upon seeing Peng Zhixing this time, Lu Yanhe invited him.

"Brother Zhixing, for the program 'Birth of an Actor', you come be the host," Lu Yanhe said.

This program absolutely needed a host. Although many people said Lu Yanhe's current achievements were enough for him to sit on the mentor panel, he felt that as a young man in his early twenties, it simply wasn't appropriate—he also had to consider the audience's feelings and the contestants' feelings.

Even if his acting skills were excellent, having a group of actor contestants older than him on stage being critiqued and instructed by him simply wasn't appropriate.

This was an inappropriateness of reason and sentiment.

So, Lu Yanhe planned to take on the role of Teacher Zhang Guoli's character himself: the convener.

Of course, he himself was already the convener of this program.

Peng Zhixing was the person who had collaborated with Lu Yanhe the most over the past four years in the program "Young Days", including Li Zhibai and Yan Liang.

This was mainly because his profession was a host.

Lu Yanhe truly had only one host he was close friends with: him.

So, generally, for films and TV dramas starring or written by Lu Yanhe, whether it was a premiere or a special screening event, if it was large-scale, they would invite Peng Zhixing to host.

And Lu Yanhe himself would also bring others along to appear on his talk show and other hosting programs for promotion.

Besides that, Peng Zhixing was also a special interviewer for the film and television version of "Jump Up", conducting film and television interviews.

After four years of collaboration, it could be said that, thanks to Lu Yanhe, Peng Zhixing was one of the young-generation hosts who interacted most closely with the film and television industry.

Especially for the interview column of the film and television version of "Jump Up", after four years of doing it, connections were secondary; Peng Zhixing's own understanding, aesthetic sense, and insights regarding film and television were not something other hosts could simply compare to. What film and television works existed in different countries and regions, what the context was here in our country, what works each director had shot, what the evolution of their styles looked like, and what the situation was with the actors—

This required a foundation built up over days and months to truly make an interview deep and substantial.

Otherwise, you could only ask others, "How do you maintain such a slim figure?" "What are your feelings about filming this movie?" "What do you want to share with everyone about this character of yours?"

These were all very shallow questions that anyone could ask.

It could be said that after four years, Peng Zhixing had become the young host best suited to host the program "Birth of an Actor".

Because he understood enough.

Peng Zhixing didn't hesitate at all and readily agreed.

"Yanhe, you just came back from filming abroad, and I thought you would settle down for a while; I didn't expect you to silently start causing big trouble again," Xiao Yun said with a laugh, "How are you so good at causing trouble?"

Lu Yanhe: "Ideas keep popping up one after another in my mind; I can't stay idle."

Once "Wu Lin Wai Zhuan" aired, Xiao Yun's popularity skyrocketed.

If Liu Zi, who played Shopkeeper Tong, was recognized by the industry and sparked heated discussion due to her very distinctive acting style, then Guo Furong, played by Xiao Yun, became one of the characters most loved by young people.

Especially for the student demographic, they hadn't yet reached the age to appreciate the goodness of the character Shopkeeper Tong; what they loved most were Bai Zhantang, played by Huang Kairan, and Guo Furong, played by Xiao Yun.

This was the charm of the character.

Especially the character Guo Furong, daring to love and hate, carefree, sometimes confused—a very alternative female knight-errant character. Strictly speaking, she only dreamed of being a female knight-errant, but in this Jianghu, no one recognized her as such.

It was just such a character that happened to strike a chord with many young people's hearts.

In a sense, her character was the same as Rachel in "Friends". In life, they both had many little flaws, but because their essence and underlying setting were that of very kind and good people, all those little flaws eventually became cute and likable aspects of them.

Xiao Yun benefited from the character's popularity and the audience's perception of the character; while her popularity skyrocketed, her national recognition also shot up.

This was a rare character that no age group would dislike.

Xiao Yun said to Lu Yanhe, "My boss has always wanted to treat you to a meal to thank you for giving me this role, haha."

"No need to be so polite."

Xiao Yun: "I know you definitely have no interest; such dinner parties are really boring."

Lu Yanhe nodded: "Indeed, I don't have much interest; in the time it takes for such a meal, I would rather go to the cinema with you to watch a movie."

"And then rumors would spread immediately," Xiao Yun said with a laugh, raising both hands and making an X, "cameras are everywhere now."

Lu Yanhe also laughed.

"Then let me rephrase it: I would rather read a book at home."

Xiao Yun asked Lu Yanhe in surprise, "Do you still read books often now?"

"Mm." Lu Yanhe nodded.

Xiao Yun sighed regretfully, seeming somewhat envious, and said, "I really wish I could be like you and still be able to read books; but now, after I open a book, I simply can't concentrate to read those words line by line."

"Then how do you read scripts?"

"Reading scripts is actually fine; the mood is different. When reading a script, I know I might act in this story later, so I am reading the script completely from an actor's perspective," Xiao Yun said, "Moreover, I feel scripts are much easier to read than many literary works."

"There is no need to force yourself; if you can't get into it, just let it be."

"But I remember you said in an interview that actors should read more books, because only then can they expand the boundaries of their minds and aesthetics," Xiao Yun said. "When I first read that interview, I thought you sounded overly scholarly, but now I'm increasingly feeling this limitation—I get many scripts sent to me, and all I can tell is whether the script appeals to me or makes me want to keep reading. Beyond that, I have absolutely no ability to judge the literary value of a script. To be honest, Yan He, if that script for 'The Path to Glory' had been sent to me, I wouldn't have finished reading it—I'd have found it boring."

Lu Yanhe: "This—"

He didn't know what to say.

Xiao Yun: "I still want to push myself to read more, I can't really let myself go to waste."

She carried herself with the determined air of someone who had made up her mind.

Lu Yanhe didn't know what to say because he had always believed that if someone truly couldn't absorb books, there was no point forcing it—why make yourself unhappy?

But as an actor, literary cultivation largely determines how complex a role one can eventually portray.

Many actors have talent and perform exceptionally well from the start. But talent alone can't sustain a career; any gifted actor who fails to continuously enrich and improve themselves will eventually become trapped in a single performance pattern, and over time, audiences will grow bored and experience aesthetic fatigue.

Reading more books expands one's inner world.

Only when one's inner world grows larger can an actor reach deeper into the worlds they portray.

As for actors of their generation, to be honest, none have experienced major societal shifts or life's ups and downs. Lu Yanhe is one of the few who has lived through things—that's why many media outlets believe his performances possess a richness far beyond his peers. Most young actors' lives are truly stable and uneventful: study, go to university, join a production team, and in the end, even the most basic crying and laughing require training to appear relatively authentic.

Asking them to portray a more complex, more detached-from-everyday-life character is nearly impossible.

Reading is a shortcut.

For actors, one must read more text—not images or video.

Because text allows actors to empathize within imagined worlds—a function images and video cannot replace.

Xiao Yun is already among the better actors of her generation.

Her acting career has actually been one of the smoothest paths.

Soon after debuting, she starred alongside Lu Yanhe in Chen Lingling's 'Phoenix Terrace' and won the China Directors Association Award for Best Supporting Actress. Though not one of the mainstream 'Big Three' awards, it's no amateur prize—it carries real weight.

Now, Xiao Yun has skyrocketed to fame thanks to 'Wu Lin Wai Zhuan,' ascending instantly.

She is already among the top-tier actresses of her generation.

Yet under these circumstances, Xiao Yun can clearly see the gap between herself and Lu Yanhe.

Xiao Yun doesn't envy any of Lu Yanhe's achievements—that's her honest feeling.

But when Xiao Yun realized how little she had accumulated, giving her, at such a young age, a hollow sense that she was nearly empty, she knew clearly: it was because very early on, she had worked alongside many excellent actors. She never compared herself to her peers; she compared herself to the cast of 'Phoenix Terrace,' to the cast of 'Wu Lin Wai Zhuan'—and each comparison left her feeling ashamed.

Xiao Yun couldn't even tell anyone, because if she said now that she felt ashamed, others would only think she was being performative.

Just like Lu Yanhe when he first started acting.

Lu Yanhe was actually quite surprised.

Xiao Yun, after her overnight fame, hadn't immediately slipped into arrogance or complacency—instead, she actively realized her cultivation was far from sufficient.

This was very different from her usual cheerful, carefree demeanor.

Xiao Yun was the type who looked utterly confident.

That evening, after everyone had dinner, Song Lin Xin suddenly said: "We haven't played games together in a long time—how about we play some games?"

"What do you want to play?" Peng Zhixing asked immediately.

Song Lin Xin said: "Actually, I really want to play Turtle Soup. I've played it a few more times with others since, and I've grown quite fond of it."

Originally, it was Peng Zhixing who introduced the Turtle Soup game to this show, scaring many people badly.

Peng Zhixing asked: "Does anyone have a good Turtle Soup riddle?"

Li Zhibai raised his hand first: "I came across one before when playing with others—I don't know if you've heard it. If you have, mute yourselves and don't speak."

Everyone laughed and said okay.

At that moment, Peng Zhixing suddenly looked toward the camera and explained: "Viewers, if you still don't know what Turtle Soup is, I recommend watching our show's first season first. Let me briefly explain: the game involves a puzzle-giver presenting a seemingly inexplicable event, called the 'soup surface.' Participants ask any questions to narrow down possibilities and uncover the true cause behind the event, called the 'soup bottom.' During the process, the puzzle-giver can only answer with 'yes,' 'correct,' 'no,' 'incorrect,' or 'unrelated.'"

The host's instincts were spot-on.

Everything was ready. Li Zhibai presented the Turtle Soup's soup surface: "The soup surface is: I was playing hide-and-seek with my mother. When she saw me, I became completely unable to move."

Song Lin Xin was the most eager and asked immediately: "Did I die?"

Li Zhibai said: "No."

Yan Liang followed up: "Was I stuck somewhere?"

"No," Li Zhibai shook his head.

Qin Zhi asked: "Is my inability to move related to my mother seeing me?"

"Yes," Li Zhibai nodded.

Lu Yanhe guessed: "Am I frozen in place because I'm nervous and scared?"

Li Zhibai laughed and nodded: "Yes."

Liu Zhiyin hugged her own arms.

"Why does this feel kind of scary?"

Su Xiao clutched Xiao Yun's arm and asked nervously: "Is there a dead person in this story?"

Li Zhibai nodded. "Yes."

Song Lin Xin instantly realized: "So it's not me who died—it's my mother?"

Li Zhibai nodded again. "Yes."

"If she's dead, how could she still be looking at me?" Yan Liang immediately questioned.

Liu Zhiyin's voice trembled: "Is it because she died with her eyes open?"

"Yes."

"Ah—" Liu Zhiyin immediately hugged Xiao Yun. "Why is it always this terrifying!"

Li Zhibai grinned triumphantly.

"Have we figured it out already?" Yan Liang asked.

"No, you haven't figured out why the 'I' in the story couldn't move," Li Zhibai said. "You haven't guessed the reason."

Lu Yanhe sighed.

"What's wrong?" Li Zhibai asked.

"I think I've figured it out."

"What is it?" Song Lin Xin asked.

Lu Yanhe: "It's a bit... spine-chilling."

Lu Yanhe looked at Li Zhibai: "In the story, was I hiding in a concealed place where I wouldn't easily be discovered, like under the bed or inside a wardrobe?"

Li Zhibai nodded: "Yes."

Lu Yanhe continued asking: "Mom was already dead, but her eyes were still open, and she could see me—does that mean I was playing hide-and-seek with Mom, I found a spot to hide and stayed there for a long time, and suddenly, someone dragged Mom's corpse in, so I saw Mom's eyes staring unblinkingly in death, and was so terrified I didn't dare move a muscle?"

The four girls, including Xiao Yun, who had the biggest nerve, all looked stunned, staring at Lu Yanhe in disbelief.

Li Zhibai looked at Lu Yanhe in astonishment and asked: "Have you seen this Turtle Soup puzzle before?"

"No." Lu Yanhe shook his head. "Just a guess."

Li Zhibai: "Whoa, that's too exaggerated! You figured it out just like that?"

"Because everyone's previous questions actually drew out all the clues," Lu Yanhe said. "In the story, it's just Mom and me. Song Lin Xin asked if I was dead; she thought my stillness meant I was dead, and you said no. Later, Su Xiao asked if anyone died, and you said yes, so the dead person could only be Mom. That stillness must have a cause, so I asked if it was due to nervousness and fear, and you said yes. Plus, later Sister Zhiyin asked if Mom died with her eyes open, and you said yes. Basically, the entire storyline has emerged."

"You really are a Screenwriter; you connected all the clues so quickly," Peng Zhixing laughed. "To be honest, just this short segment of the story feels like it could become the opening of a very captivating horror film."

Lu Yanhe also smiled. "But the story is hard to flesh out."

"Hard to flesh out?"

"Mm." Lu Yanhe nodded. "The Turtle Soup puzzle basically tells the whole story. To continue from there, it would essentially be either me escaping from the murderer or me seeking revenge for Mom, and then exploring why Mom was killed. But even to make it into a movie, you need a plot. Within such a framework, since I'm a child, I can't be too mature or too intelligent, otherwise it wouldn't feel real and would seem fake. I don't have the capacity to explore unless more characters are introduced, like neighbors or police, to provide more perspectives. Otherwise, under the current circumstances, the balance of power between the two sides is too skewed; it's very difficult to form a confrontational dynamic. Building a complete story with a proper beginning, development, climax, and resolution on this basis is too hard."

"Then if you were to develop it, how would you proceed? How could you escape this cliché?" Yan Liang asked curiously.

"Yeah, if you received a story like this and were forced to write it, how would you write it?" Xiao Yun asked curiously.

Lu Yanhe thought seriously for about three minutes, and everyone quietly waited for him to think.

Finally, Lu Yanhe came up with an idea and smiled.

"I think the idea I came up with is also quite horrifying."

"Huh? What idea?"

"I realized that the person who killed my mom was actually my dad, and my dad knew I was in the house too," Lu Yanhe said.