Chapter 59: The Counterattack of the Reborn Supporting Female Character (Part 10)

At last, it was Mu Yin’s group’s turn, and they hurried onto the stage. Speaking of it, the tale of Meishan’s gratitude is a tragic one—not because lovers are kept apart, but because, even after uniting, the heroine’s frail constitution and her association with the demon clans ultimately lead to her untimely death.

Devastated by the loss of his beloved, Meishan retreats into the mountains and disappears from the mortal world. Only rumors remain: from time to time, a remarkably handsome man bearing a plum blossom mark on his forehead is said to appear among people, searching endlessly for his lost love.

Thus, their script opened with a scene: a long-haired man in ancient garb wandering the bustling streets of the modern era. At that moment, Li Xingzhou, a vocal performance major playing the male lead, began to sing:

“A thousand years have passed in the blink of an eye, yet I still cannot find my beloved. Will we ever meet again in this life or the next...”

It was then that Wang Xixi and Mu Yin, both dressed as women, passed by his side. Unintentionally, their gazes met. Meishan, overjoyed, reached out and grasped Wang Xixi’s hand. After multiple rounds of auditions, Wang Xixi had been cast as the female lead.

“Hey, what’s your problem?” Mu Yin immediately reached for Wang Xixi’s hand, glaring angrily at Meishan.

“Sorry, miss, I just…” Meishan could only stumble over his words. He was unwilling to lose the reincarnation of his beloved after so much searching, but Wang Xixi was not pleased to be treated as a mere substitute, even if it was for her past life. Despite her heart stirring, she refused to accept it, and as her close friend, Mu Yin naturally stood by her side.

Having just entered the modern world, Meishan inevitably caused some comical misunderstandings. But then, one day, Wang Xixi suffered an accident and fell unconscious. Meishan declared she needed to have her soul called back and entered her dreamscape—only to find himself reliving scenes from their first lifetime together.

They changed costumes and props, and the play continued with the ancient storyline. The entire stage performance was limited to half an hour, as this was a variety show, not a full production. The live broadcast would span several days, with only three groups performing each day.

The show was still experimental. If this broadcasting style failed to attract audiences, the second elimination round would abandon it in favor of something new.

Two months later, filming for the variety show finally ended. Mu Yin breathed a sigh of relief as she left the production team with Lan Lu. Also in the car were Qin Chang and Huang Yu—after all, they worked for the same company and had all made it to the final round. Only twenty people remained. “Tired?” Lan Lu asked.

“Yes,” Mu Yin nodded.

“You’ll need to keep your spirits up. As one of the final twenty, you’ll receive an investment of five million to shoot a film or TV series. You’ll be the main creative team,” Lan Lu said with a smile.

Indeed, the final prize for this show wasn’t debuting as a group, but a five million investment to create a film or TV series, with all key roles filled by the contestants themselves.

“By the way, you’ve received great reviews for both variety shows and have officially made your comeback. Besides this project, which is still in pre-production, I’ve also received some audition invitations and other variety shows for you. Let me know if you’re interested—Qin Chang, you too,” Lan Lu added.

“I’ll pass on variety shows for now. I need to review the scripts,” Mu Yin replied, shaking her head, weary from participating in two consecutive shows.

In the end, neither Mu Yin nor Qin Chang were the ultimate winners of the talent show—it was Wang Xixi. This meant she was the undisputed female lead for the investment project; Mu Yin could only be the second female lead, while the male lead was the third-place winner, Liao Minmao, the highest-ranked male contestant. Of course, Mu Yin could always take a cameo role if she wished.

Mu Yin also discovered who the original heroine was—the one targeted by the transmigrated girl. It was indeed Wang Xixi. But as the original heroine, she was blessed with good fortune, and her acting skills had improved rapidly with tutoring from the mentors. Moreover, she’d trained in singing since childhood—far surpassing Mu Yin, who’d only switched to the industry later on.

In terms of appearance, Mu Yin was a striking beauty with bright eyes and pearly teeth—no wonder she’d once been the company’s visual. Qin Chang, on the other hand, was stunning, with an impressive figure and a privileged background—the very picture of the villainous supporting character doomed to be sacrificed for the plot. Wang Xixi, however, had a pure and innocent look, very much the image of a delicate white lotus.

Despite her appearance, Wang Xixi had a good personality. After two months working together, Mu Yin found her easy to get along with. Once she realized Wang Xixi was the original heroine, she was even happier and wholeheartedly helped her rise to the top, which was how she finally secured the C-position.

Mu Yin could also tell that Qin Chang was a decent person; aside from plagiarism, she never resorted to underhanded tactics. It was just unfortunate she was also a heroine, and for the sake of the world’s plot, Mu Yin couldn’t let her take the lead, or it would cause unforeseen consequences.

Mu Yin had already taken a leave to report to school, so upon returning, she finally began her studies—managing to skip military training altogether.

She’d read through all the scripts Lan Lu brought her and noticed they were all supporting roles—characters who sacrificed themselves for the heroine. While these were better than villainous roles, why did she always get cast as the “green leaf”? Was it because she played a maid in “Meishan”?

There were only two stage plays in the entire variety show; the rest was singing, dancing, or other performances. They couldn’t do drama every time—it would be too monotonous. Sometimes, they even had to improvise or compose songs on the spot, based on prompts from the live audience.

Yet somehow, the directors all remembered her as the maid from “Meishan.” Mu Yin was exasperated; after reading all the scripts, none truly interested her. In truth, Mu Yin had never been passionate about acting, and now she’d found a new way to accomplish her tasks, so she’d grown somewhat slack.

Still, she didn’t want to seem unambitious, so she picked a script with a decent character to audition for. In addition, she decided to cultivate a good relationship with Qin Chang. Knowing her personality, Mu Yin realized she didn’t have to fight every battle alone—helping the original heroine, or persuading her, could be another strategy.

As long as someone wasn’t truly malicious, she could probably talk things through. Mu Yin considered the possibility of “brainwashing” Qin Chang. After all, Qin Chang was just a native infused with memories from another world, not a true transmigrator—so she ought to be more easily persuaded.

A month later, auditions began for the script Mu Yin had chosen. She took leave to attend and, at first, everything went smoothly. She could sense the director and screenwriter were both satisfied with her. Yet in the end, a newcomer swooped in out of nowhere and snatched the role away.