Chapter 484 The First Director’s Review

Chapter 484: The First Director's Evaluation

It turns out that even characters in a soap opera couldn't argue non-stop for twelve hours straight. They also needed to eat, take walks in the garden, have short naps, and even have some private time, as if the emotional tension in the script also required a brief breather. The atmosphere in the hall gradually calmed down after the intense confrontation, but the conflicts between the characters didn't seem to dissipate over time. Even in silence, the living room was shrouded in a faint, gloomy cloud.

The gardener, Su Bai, leaned against a wall, idly stretching his shoulders. In his view, if this were the real world, a CEO, no matter how "overbearing," wouldn't devote himself full-time to a melodramatic plot. He would likely schedule some work time—perhaps handling documents or making a few calls about merger deals. Here, however, these virtual characters were tightly bound by the script, with no work tasks whatsoever.

In short, the essence of a soap opera was like a soap bubble—dazzling yet empty. Although the plot content felt absurd and laughable, under the script's control, Lian Xiangyu and the others had been kept busy all day. Time passed slowly. When the ancient grandfather clock in the hall emitted its low, resonant "dong—dong—" chimes, the first day's audition activities finally came to an end. Simultaneously, that weird, androgynous voice with its peculiar cadence echoed in Su Bai and the others' ears once more, like an intangible cold breeze skittering down their spines.

「Actors, the first day's audition activities have concluded.」

As these words sounded, the actions of Lian Xiangyu, Shen Dong'er, and Ning Yi, who had just been arguing in the hall, froze as if someone had hit pause. Their bodies stiffened in place, then remained frozen for four or five seconds as if forcibly rebooted. Even Huo Lang, who had been standing nearby in his butler role, staggered, nearly falling over on the spot.

Then, the expressions of Lian Xiangyu and the other two gradually shifted from confusion to peculiarity, as if someone had forcibly poured memories into their minds—those utterly absurd lines, the illogical emotional entanglements, every scene that had occurred, all flashed through their minds like film clips at this moment.

Shen Dong'er's face showed the most intense reaction. Her eyes widened, and the corner of her mouth twitched slightly, as if fighting back a surge of emotion. Suddenly, she covered her mouth, her face a mask of extreme disgust, as if she'd been poisoned. She abruptly stood up and almost stumbled her way toward the bathroom.

Watching her retreating figure, Su Bai thought to himself. If Shen Dong'er wasn't pregnant or suffering from food poisoning, then it could only mean... even though Lian Xiangyu and the others were puppeteered by the script, they clearly remembered everything that had happened.

Even as puppet-like characters, their consciousness remained intact after the puppet show ended, and they vividly recalled those awkward, even absurd, actions.

No wonder their expressions were so grim. Just remembering the insane lines they had spoken was enough to cause discomfort, especially for Shen Dong'er, who deeply despised anything "love-brained."

The sound of Shen Dong'er retching came from the bathroom, but the strange voice didn't stop, continuing to reverberate in the air—

「Regarding the actors' performances on the first day, Director #￥%%'s evaluation is...」

The entire hall instantly fell into dead silence. Even Lian Xiangyu and Ning Yi, who had just shown extreme distress, now subconsciously held their breath, focusing intently as they awaited the mysterious director's judgment. Su Bai and the others also adopted serious expressions. After all, this evaluation concerned whether they could figure out the rules for clearing this stage.

If the director criticized Lian Xiangyu and the others for poor acting, or criticized Su Bai's group for slacking off countless times, it would mean that, within the director's rules, the actors had to strictly follow every detail of the script.

But if the director accused their performances of being insufficiently exciting, it would mean they had to make the second day's performances even more dramatic. Regarding this point, although Feng Ling claimed she was confident enough to achieve it, for some reason, Su Bai felt a chill run down his spine.

Finally, the voice delivered its conclusion—

「Boring, utterly boring! Extremely boring performances, so boring I nearly fell asleep watching, so boring every actor seems utterly lackluster, boring to the extreme!」

「The above is the director's summary of today's audition activities.」

The air in the hall seemed to grow heavy. The expressions of Lian Xiangyu and the others turned even darker, perhaps unable to comprehend why the director's evaluation was so poor when they had already gone to such lengths. Not to mention, as puppets on strings, they had no control over the script at all!

Shen Dong'er now emerged from the bathroom looking drained, collapsing onto the sofa, burying her head in her hands as if trying to hide from this absurd reality. Lian Xiangyu and Ning Yi also unconsciously distanced themselves from each other, as if afraid that staying near for one more second would deepen the awkwardness between them.

Huo Lang was by nature cheerful and optimistic, but perhaps because the atmosphere in the hall was too awkward, even he couldn't find an opportunity to speak.

The voice then announced: 「From today until the completion of the new drama's filming, Director #￥%% will temporarily take charge of the Blood Moon Lake Villa. Actors may feel free to choose rooms on the second floor to rest. See you tomorrow.」

After the voice faded, Feng Ling looked at Su Bai with an "as expected" expression. She gave him a slight smile, tinged with excitement and confidence, which set Su Bai on edge, unsure what she intended to do.

"That voice just said the director 'takes charge' of this villa, not 'rents' it," Su Bai walked over and said in a low voice. "Although it's just a difference in wording, 'renting' leans toward a real-world concept, while 'taking charge' implies this place has been occupied by some powerful entity from the Nightmare World."

At the mention of a powerful entity, Su Bai couldn't help but glance at Wu Hang sitting on the other side.

Feng Ling nodded, her gaze shifting to the mirror-like calm lake and the silent garden outside the window.

"Perhaps that's why the lake and garden are so tranquil," she whispered. "A powerful Eerie Entity has taken over this area, driving away the Eerie Entities that originally lurked here."

"And that entity is naturally the director," Su Bai stated matter-of-factly. "In other words, as long as we remain within the director's rules and haven't been eliminated, we can indeed enjoy a rare peaceful night tonight."

Though he said "tonight," the Nightmare World didn't really have a concept of time other than "night."

Just as Su Bai said, the entire "night" was unbelievably calm, without even a hint of eerie movement, as if they were truly vacationing in a mountain villa in the real world.

This night, danger seemed suppressed by some invisible force; even nightmares appeared to have vanished.

However, it was clear this invisible force hadn't detected the unidentified puppet mixed among the "actors." This might mean the power of the Eerie Entity currently in charge of Blood Moon Lake Villa wasn't yet a match for the one who had borrowed a puppet's body.