“Heh... heh heh...” Oscar chuckled awkwardly, casting a quick, deliberate glance at the director, hoping Fei Ran would come to his rescue.

But Fei Ran remained unmoved...

"Sigh..." Oscar sighed deeply in his heart. There was nothing for it; as a professional host, he had to control the situation and find a way to keep the show going, as long as the director didn't call "cut"...

Of course, the difficulty of this task wasn't insurmountable... after all, Oscar was a professionally trained host; coming up with things to say and changing the subject were basic skills in the hosting industry. Even if he had no script in hand or teleprompter in sight, relying purely on his impromptu reaction to talk nonsense... he could speak continuously for ten minutes without repeating himself.

"Bujue, if you keep making these kinds of remarks, when the show airs, our post-production team might make your photos look really bad," Oscar quickly replaced his awkward expression with a relaxed smile, making a playful jab.

At this point, Fei Ran made his move when the time was right. He casually raised his arm and gestured, prompting the audience to erupt in laughter.

And so... in a "hilarious" atmosphere, Brother Jue's speech ended. From a stage performance perspective, it was actually pretty good. After his little stunt... Ye Zhihuo's earlier performance seemed rather mediocre in comparison.

"General Fei, let's hear from you," Oscar didn't give Brother Jue another chance to speak. He finished his sentence and quickly took a few steps to the front of the fifth contestant's seat.

"Hello everyone, I'm General Fei." General Fei raised his right hand and waved at the camera. "I hope everyone continues to support me as always..." He wore a smile on his face, but suddenly cast a malicious glance to his left. "...I will use my strength to earn everyone's applause."

Feng Bujue rested his cheek on his hand, tilting his head to look at the other man, and laughed inwardly, "Hmph... this guy seems to be implying something..." With that thought, he also turned his head slightly to look to his other side... as expected, Ye Zhihuo glared back at him and immediately revealed a disdainful expression, snorting coldly.

"Heh... is this where the gloves come off..." Brother Jue shook his head slightly, thinking to himself, "Sigh... I really shouldn't have come... the atmosphere here is a little off..."

Feng Bujue's intuition was correct; the situation in this revival match was very different from the episode he had participated in before... as Fei Ran had said, the show "I Am a Writer" had gradually deviated from its original intention...

In fact, during the show's planning stages, the television station's executives were not optimistic about the project, so they only allocated a small production budget and scheduled the broadcast for Monday nights at ten o'clock.

In the first and second episodes of "I Am a Writer," the production team only invited two A-list writers, and they both appeared as a favor. The other five were either unknown or washed-up writers. Overall, the show seemed like a case that would likely be canceled after the pilot episode...

Unexpectedly... the behind-the-scenes team led by Fei Ran pulled off a brilliant turnaround. With a limited budget, they produced a high-quality product that made "I Am a Writer" a dark horse in the season's ratings.

As a result, the television station's executives quickly reacted. They began to increase investment in all aspects and moved the show's broadcast time to a prime weekend slot.

Soon... a large number of sponsors flocked to them, and businesses buying the online rights also poured money into bidding. And the writers who appeared on stage were becoming bigger and bigger names. Basically, as long as the production team invited them, they would come. Even if the writer themselves didn't want to come, the company they had a contract with would find a way to squeeze them in...

Feng Bujue was spotted by several editors behind the scenes when the show was on the rise. After the production team contacted the cultural promotion department of the Si Rui Group, they eventually found him through the ranks. Coincidentally, Brother Jue was short on cash at the time, and when he heard there was an appearance fee... he gave in.

However, as "I Am a Writer" became popular, interference from the higher-ups... also increased.

Television station executives, sponsors, people with related interests, and so on... these people didn't understand anything about the profession, but they would always make self-righteous demands. Some of these demands were made out of commercial considerations, which was reasonable, as investors wanted to protect their interests; others were based on the "I'm paying, so I'm the boss" mentality, purely wanting to interfere and show off their presence and intelligence.

In short, from that time on, the show's tone gradually changed...

The original harmonious and polite atmosphere faded, replaced by a ubiquitous sense of competition...

As a result, writers like Ye Zhihuo and General Fei also came to the show one after another. In fact, according to the core team's philosophy, they wouldn't invite this type of writer. But when you're under someone else's roof, you have to bow your head... The sponsors didn't know what kind of writers were suitable for this show. All they would do was open a search engine, search for keywords like "popular writers" online, and then run to the professionals to give them pointers, thinking they had come up with a great suggestion.

Fei Ran was also quite annoyed, because for almost every episode, he and the behind-the-scenes team had to readjust the rules and content of each segment to cater to the needs of all parties...

Belatedly realizing it, "I Am a Writer" had become what it is today...

Writers no longer came here with the attitude of "learning from each other" or "showcasing themselves," but to "win" and to "compete."

Inside and outside the venue, on and off the stage, in the virtual world and in reality... fan wars, internet water army hype, and even writers attacking each other in the text of their works were everywhere.

Perhaps this is exactly what the saying goes – writers have looked down on each other since ancient times.

This was the situation that the businessmen wanted to see. What they wanted to show was conflict and contradiction, and the hypocritical emotions that were staged in the cruel elimination process. They sought to attract attention and gain profits by peddling these dramas that could only fool idiots.

To this end, they could unhesitatingly strip away the last bit of integrity and pride from the writers.

If Feng Bujue had been paying attention to this show all along, he wouldn't have come today. At least he felt that... anyone who came to this stage had already lost.

To use a phrase often said by Li Yunlong (the protagonist of "Bright Sword")... Brother Jue and Ye Zhihuo and General Fei were people who just didn't see eye to eye.

"Wow, General Fei is very imposing," Oscar's questioning continued as he arrived at the fourth contestant's seat. "Rose, let's hear from you too."

Addressing a girl in her early twenties directly by her pen name, "Chainsaw Rose," was obviously inappropriate, but fortunately she had an English name...

"I'm just me..." Rose wore all black, her bangs covering her eyebrows, and her face was made up with heavy smoky eye shadow. Her pale face looked seven parts like a ghost, and her voice revealed utter decadence. "I have nothing to say to a bunch of living dead..."

"Hmm... this goth girl is actually a chuunibyou..." Feng Bujue turned his head to look over, thinking to himself, "How can someone like this have so much popularity? What is the mentality of today's audience..."

"What are you looking at?" Suddenly, Rose noticed Brother Jue's gaze, and she actually said this directly to the latter.

"Why do you care about the empty gaze of a living dead..." Feng Bujue cleverly gave an answer that a chuunibyou would find difficult to refute.

"Hmph..." Rose snorted coldly, and then... she actually took out a cigarette and a lighter from her pocket.

"Hey... you two are going against the heavens..." The veins on Oscar's forehead bulged out. He was frantically complaining in his heart, "Are you trying to mess with me? Are you trying to mess with me! One crazy person is enough, but two on one show? How am I supposed to smooth things over! Why isn't the director calling 'cut' yet! If this goes on, the situation will get out of control sooner or later!"

*Ding—ch嚓—* The flame of the lighter ignited.

Rose lit a cigarette for herself and took a light puff. The white smoke drifted from her lips, which were painted with black lipstick, making her look particularly striking.

"Oh," she said to Oscar as if she had just remembered, "Do you mind if I smoke here?"

"You've already started smoking, what's the point of asking!" Oscar roared in his heart. But on the surface, he still tried to remain calm. "Heh heh... please, be my guest."

This wasn't the first time Oscar had dealt with Chainsaw Rose. Based on his experience, the best thing to do at this time was to "ignore" her. If you argued with her, for example, by saying something like "Smoking is bad for your health," she would probably answer with Gothic comments such as "My heart is already dead, this body is just a decaying shell," leaving you speechless...

"Keep going," Fei Ran's voice came from the headset again. He was excitedly saying on the staff's private channel, "I have a feeling that this episode will become legendary..."

"What legendary crap are you talking about..." Oscar was sweating profusely, thinking to himself, "Director Fei, you're in your forties, don't you feel ashamed to say such chuunibyou lines..."

"Yes!" "Okay!" "Understood!" "Let's go all out!"

Unexpectedly, all the other personnel in various departments responded to Fei Ran's words with enthusiasm, each showing a fighting spirit and perking up.

"I'll go... what kind of people are in this production team!" Oscar thought to himself, "I must resign next year for the second season! Unless they offer me double my salary... hmm... or one and a half times... hmm... a 20 percent increase could also be considered..."

"So... next..." Oscar's thoughts were not at all reflected on his face. He took two steps at a time and went to the front of the third contestant's seat. "Brother Dadi, it's your turn."

Reform Spring Breeze Blows on the Earth (referred to as Uncle Dadi below) raised his hand and adjusted his black-rimmed glasses. "I hope... I can live up to the expectations of my supporters today."

"Although it's short, it's a very sincere statement," Oscar responded, took a few more steps, turned his face, and said, "Yamucha, what do you want to say to the audience?"

"Ah... actually, I'm already very happy to be sitting here today," Little Brother Yamucha replied. "I came with the attitude of learning from my seniors, but... I also hope to get good results."

"Okay, we look forward to your performance," Oscar continued, and then he finally reached the number one contestant's seat. "So finally, please welcome someone we're very familiar with... Soda." He paused for a moment, and then said, "Among the seven contestants tonight, Soda has been in the main competition unit the longest, so her strength is beyond doubt. At this moment... what do you want to say to the audience?"

"I came as soon as I was notified," Soda shrugged. Her attitude towards participating in the show was also relatively calm. "I just... hope to have an outstanding performance today."

"Yes, I believe you will," Oscar said.

At this point, the warm-up was considered over, and Oscar could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

He turned around, returned to the center of the stage, and looked at the camera. "After listening to the contestants, I wonder... who do you, the audience, think will win tonight? Please send your answer to..." This was followed by a formulaic monologue about SMS guessing sweepstakes and advertisements.

During the official broadcast, a minute or two of commercials would be inserted here.

Oscar finished reading the previous paragraph, paused for a few seconds, changed his posture and expression, and then said, "Welcome back to... I Am a Writer - Revival Night."

The music and lights made a fuss.

"Without further ado, let's move on to the first round of the duel..." Oscar pointed his arm again, matching the subtitles on the big screen. "...Words into Chapters."

"Isn't this the same segment as last time..." Feng Bujue thought to himself, "Could it be that the rules have changed?"

"Of course, as I said before," Oscar's words confirmed Brother Jue's guess, "The rules for this episode will be changed, please watch... the big screen..."

As he spoke, the complete rules were displayed on the big screen in the venue. The contestants didn't need to look up there, they could also see the display on the screens of the operating consoles in front of them, as long as they looked down.

"Okay..." After the rules were displayed for a while, Oscar continued, "First, let's take a look at what the first 'keyword' is, ready... go!" He shouted, and the words in the middle of the screen began to scroll at high speed.

The last time Feng Bujue came, the words scrolling on the screen were dozens of words such as "event, character, animal, scenery," but this time... the number of these random keywords seemed to have decreased. Perhaps the general audience, or even the contestants, didn't notice it at all. But Feng Bujue noticed this because of his excellent dynamic vision...

"Stop!" Oscar shouted again after several tens of seconds, and the keywords on the screen suddenly stopped on the word "Emotion."

The audience in the audience immediately became restless, this seemed to be a keyword that the general public liked very much.

"Then..." Oscar said to the camera, "According to the new rules, all contestants will also receive a keyword. And this keyword that each person receives is also the same..." He deliberately changed his expression. "In other words... this time, the seven writers in our presence are creating under exactly the same conditions. And the time... is still only seven minutes. Now..." He turned and said, "The first round officially begins!"

After Oscar finished speaking, the second keyword appeared on the operating consoles in front of the contestants - "Time."

"Ladies and gentlemen, as we have said time and time again, all the creative segments of this program are recorded in real time and absolutely no water is added." Oscar began to speak in a formulaic manner. "Every writer who comes to our venue is creating without the Internet or any auxiliary tools."

As he said this, Fei Ran's voice came from Oscar's headset again. The director seemed to have some new instructions.

Oscar kept talking, but silently memorized the instructions in his mind. Then, he naturally continued the previous sentence: "According to the special rules of our revival night, the order of publishing the articles in this Words into Chapters will be arranged according to the time it takes for each contestant to complete..." He turned his head and said, "Writer-teachers, after you are sure that you have completed it, you can directly click the submit button on the top of the screen, and the system will record the time you completed it."

*Beep—*

Before he could finish speaking, Brother Jue's operating console had already sounded...

Feng Bujue was seen resting his hands on the back of his head, leaning back in his chair, leisurely looking around. And Ye Zhihuo and General Fei, who were sitting on his left and right sides, were indeed affected by this sudden situation. Both of them glanced at Brother Jue unconsciously, and they both became nervous.

"Uh..." Oscar was stunned for two seconds before reading, "Oh, we see that contestant Bujue has already completed... his time is only fifty-two seconds, it's incredible..."

Even though he didn't want to at all, Oscar still went to Brother Jue's side out of professional ethics...

When the show was recorded to this point, the close-up photographer should come on stage. The cameraman who carried the camera was exactly that Photographer Xiao Wu. Under the director's instructions, he walked quickly to Oscar's side and came to the contestant's seat with him.

After taking close-up shots of the six writers creating one by one, the camera finally landed on Brother Jue's face.

Oscar also happened to walk to the front of the sixth contestant's seat and said, "Bujue, you finished so quickly."

"Yeah..." Feng Bujue responded weakly.

"You're not going to hand in a blank paper, are you?" Oscar said half jokingly.

"Do you want to take a look?" Brother Jue replied.

"Heh heh..." Oscar smiled at the camera. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is the benefit of being a host. I'll take a look first..."

Two seconds later, Oscar's smile froze, he saw the following content: "From acquaintance to the present, from indifference to care, from rejection to dependence, from unfamiliarity to love, from belief to suspicion, from pampering to hurting, from gorgeous to pale, from being together to separating, from being touched to feeling emotional, from understanding to blaming, from expecting to feeling helpless, from ecstasy to sorrow."