Thriller Paradise - Chapter 229

Chapter 229: 229
On Saturday, April 19th, at Feng Bujue's home, Xiao Tan, Master Bao, and Brother Jue were seated on the sofa in the living room, staring at the television . The table before them was filled with take-out, bought with the fee that Brother Jue had earned from his writing and TV appearance . Feng Bujue had already connected a video file on his laptop onto the television, so he could watch it directly from the TV . The content of this video was the episode for 'I Am a Writer' that he had recorded one week earlier .



"The episode will be aired next Friday, and this is… an hour long precut version . During the actual showing, it will be cut down to forty-five minutes . " Feng Bujue raised the remote and said before pressing the button, "Are you sure you want to watch this?"

"Stop wasting time," Master Bao urged . "Hurry up . My wife is waiting for me at home for dinner . "

Xiao Tan was also excited . "Quick, this is the first time someone I know has been on TV . "

"Alright… fine . " Feng Bujue pressed the button . Strange images from horror movies appeared on the screen, but this only continued for one or two seconds . This was probably a file problem . After all, this was not the final version, so it was normal for there to be problems . The video started for real . The camera panned from above, pulling closer to the center of the stage . Over the years, the lighting managers for variety shows appeared to have lost their mind . They did not seem satisfied until they blinded the eyes of all the viewers, and that was also the case with this show . The spotlights on the stage flickered, and the camera moved with them .

The contestants' corner was dim . Seven contestants sat next to each other with one meter between them, and each of them had a panel before them . The light hit them from a strange angle so that the audience could see their outline clearly but not their faces . As the music began, a host walked onto the stage . Compared to a certain fatty from the Death Quiz, this host was more believable . He was dressed in a casual tux and had an earpiece in . He walked steadily to the middle of the stage . After he stood still, he raised his arms . The spotlights stopped and gathered on him . The host bowed lightly and said, "Welcome to I Am a Writer . I am your host, Oscar . "

Two seconds later, the lights lit up the whole stage and the audience, but the contestants' corner was still dim, like they were shooting a horror movie . Oscar was obviously just a stage name . Nowadays, people could accept any stage name as long as it was not Jin Fugui .

"Alright, audience members, I bet everyone has been waiting a long time for this…" Oscar turned to raise his arm at the contestants . "We have seven contestants with us today, and we have met six of them already . I believe the audience will be able to tell who they are from their shadows…"

"How come the second thing out of the host's lips is 'everyone has been waiting a long time for this'?" Xiao Tan asked .




"Because in the official version, before Oscar said that, he had to go through a long list of sponsors," Feng Bujue explained . "In today's variety shows, most of the segments are recorded separately . Due to intonation and time-handling, there have to be multiple takes .

"After each break for advertisement, the host has to slip in certain advertisement slogans from the sponsors . Some of them can be quite long . These won't be recorded live but added later . "

"Is that so?" Xiao Tan sighed . "It's not easy to be a host . "

"Shush, it's time to introduce the contestants," Master Bai reminded him .

In the image, the lights near the first contestant lit up . It was male youth with spectacles . He was around thirty, slightly rotund, and dressed casually . Oscar took out the question cards from his pocket and started to make the introduction . Of course, he was introducing everyone by their penname . "Contestant Number 1, Xuan Tianzong, a famous online author . Even though he is only thirty-two, he has about ten books with more than two million words . His works are very popular and have been adapted into games, movies, dramas, and so on… It's one of the few authors whose income can go above ten million RMB . Here's the comment from our main editor—smooth writing style, great characterization, fulfilling plot, the best Xuanhuan[1] writer we have today . "

The host paused, and without the order from the set director, the audience gave a thunderous applause . Then the second contestant's area was lit up . It was also a male youth, with medium frame, who looked several years older than Xuan Tianzong . His spectacle design and fashion choice appeared more mature .

"Our second contestant is Ba Shan Pin, a well-known online author . He's thirty-three and has five long historical novels under his belt . Our main editor's comment—knowledgeable in his craft, his works have a deep foundation . It shows that he is very constant reader . "

The applause received by Ba Shan Pin was equally thunderous .

"Our third contestant is Vegetable Fruit . A known author and the holder of many records . He started his career when he was eighteen, and most of his works are themed in the city lifestyle and magic . In the past ten years, he has published about 27,000,000 words and has the record of uploading every single day . He is a familiar name on the best seller ranking . Main editor's comment—the writing style is even and honest . The author is good at managing the plot's pacing . The king of plot! A hardworking genius . "



Vegetable Fruit was twenty-eight and was quite handsome . He had the largest number of fans . Since he appeared, the applause and yelling had not stopped .

"The fourth contestant and our only female contestant, Mo Buxiang . Her age, like all women… is unknown . " Oscar turned to the camera and laughed . Laughter came from the audience as well . Mo Buxiang's hair was in a ponytail, and she looked quiet and reserved . Even though she was not a great beauty, she looked photogenic with some make-up . "She started writing five years ago and has six known works under her name . They include supernatural, modern, game, historical, romance, and Xianxia[2], six genres . They have all been published physically, and she was last year's highest grossing female author . Main editor's comment—graceful style, and her genre is forever changing . It is little wonder that she is known as a literary genius . "

Thunderous applause came from the audience . Even though Mo Buxiang did not have as many diehard fans as the previous contestants, many male audience members chose to support her as their second choice .

The fifth contestant was shown, also a male . He was about thirty and had classic African American curls . He wore sunglasses indoor and looked quite muscular .

"Fifth contestant, Onto the Field . An online author and editor for a famous sports magazine . He has thirteen short novellas in the sports genre . His style is more realistic in setting . With his professional knowledge, he is well loved by sports fans," Oscar said . "Main editor's comment—an author who knows what he's writing about . The best of the best in his genre, that is undeniable . "

After the applause ended, the sixth contestant showed himself . He looked quite similar to Xuan Tianzong, but in terms of presence and fashion sense, he looked older .

"Sixth contestant, Soda . A known online writer, famous for his supernatural and ghost stories . He has seven long novels, and they have all been claimed as classics . He is well known in and out of the industry and is called our generation's master of horror," Oscar said . "Main editor's comment—Soda's every story will be able to evoke the deepest fear in the readers' heart . The details are specific and ghastly . The title 'Master of Horror' is not without its reason . "

"Oh, it's coming!" Xiao Tan got excited because he felt like it was about to be Brother Jue's turn .

Suddenly, the camera zoomed in to give Oscar a closeup . "Audience members, our seventh contestant is a newcomer . This stage is cruel, and someone will be eliminated every episode . The elimination rate of newcomers is as high as fifty percent this season…"



He created a nervous atmosphere so that people would anticipate this newcomer . "Will he successfully stay for another day, or will he disappear like a comet crossing the sky? Let's find out…"

Applause boomed through the crowd, and the spotlights hit everywhere . Finally, the stage plunged into darkness, and the applause stopped . The spotlights suddenly all gathered on Feng Bujue . Even though Feng Bujue only glanced at the camera with a bored expression, the audience still gifted him with great applause and cheer .

"Actually, when the show started recording, the audience entered the hall at the same time as the contestants, so they knew who I was early on," Feng Bujue explained while destroying the mood . "This kind of reaction that you see is purposely arranged by the set director . Even if no one knew me, the reaction would be the same . "

In the camera, Oscar waited for the audience to finish before speaking again . "Oh, our seventh contestant looks very young . "

Even though he had chatted with Feng Bujue before the recording, he still acted like this was the first time that they had met . "I believe some people in our audience have recognized him already . Some might have read his books but have not seen him in person . Well, who is it?"

This had dragged out long enough . It was time to give the answer . Oscar pulled out the cue card to read . "Seventh contestant, Bujue, known detective novel writer . He has published twelve detective novels and has serials on the internet, in newspapers, and in magazines . His style is often humorous and unique . Be it long or short novels, the plot will always surprise the readers . "

Oscar put down the card to say, "Contestant Bujue, you are recommended by all three of our main editors . They are all your fans . "

"Is that so?" Feng Bujue answered casually .

"Main editor's comment," Oscar continued, "if you're good enough but you can't shine, make sure you are irreplaceable . "

"Ha ha…" Feng Bujue's lips twitched .

"Based on our show's habit, every episode we will allow the newcomer to set the episode's theme . " He walked to Feng Bujue's podium . "Contestant Bujue, you have three minutes to consider . In the meantime, we will enter the commercials . "

"What did you set?" Xiao Tan asked .

Feng Bujue did not answer and pointed at the screen . This version did not have commercials, so after a quick change of scene, it was time to reveal the answer . Oscar moved to stand beside Feng Bujue and saw the words that he had written on the panel . Then, his expression shifted slightly as he sneaked a look at Feng Bujue with a strange color in his eyes .

"Alright, let's take a look . The theme that Bujue has given us this week on I Am a Writer is…"

Oscar was a professional host . As ridiculous as what Feng Bujue had written was, Oscar appeared calm on the surface .

As the host raised his hand, what Feng Bujue had written down appeared on the large screen .

"Feel free to roast . "

[1] Xuanhuan is a sub-genre of Chinese fantasy fiction .

[2] Xianxia is another sub-genre of Chinese fantasy fiction .