Shift! The Side-Character Heroine

The cooldown of the “Two Dimensional Gate” was over, but Lady Zhao did not feel like stepping in yet. She had become apprehensive of its random nature. She had been tricked so many time that she could not get her hopes up again…

At least, she could always sacrifice a highly popular card and enter a world of her choosing.

The highly popular “Zhao Xiaomei” character card that only found its use in drift racing was not otherwise very practical, so it could be used as a sacrifice. The bigger issue was that she could not find a work with potential either. Moreover, Zhao Xiaomei came from a rather realistic world, so she could not be used to enter – say – a low-level supernatural world.

The winter holidays went by quickly. Zhao Youyue was now back at the university campus, and the second semester of her first year had begun.

The internet was currently brimming with comments on how Zhao Youyue’s acting skills were supreme, and that she had brought Chu Luoxun to life!

Prior to this, everyone had still been focused on the movie itself. Afterall, there were many who were new to the scene. If you asked someone if they even read novels at all – more likely than not, they would say that they do not. Would the same thing apply when it comes to movies?

As the times caught up, the power of words started to falter before that of images and sounds.

Of course, we no longer need to talk about the movie reviews. They were basically in the same vein as the review of the novel. You would most likely repeat what that already has been said, and people would only ridicule you for borrowing the words of another.

Only after scrutiny of the plot, details, and dispute between the two fan clubs, did everyone start to focus on the acting skills of the actors.

There was nothing much to say about Liu Xingxing’s acting skills. The boy would never let anyone down. It was no wonder that he was a representative of the younger generation of actors. As always, he executed his role well. He brought the quirky, uncertain male character to life…

Even so, he did not do anything differently from his other works, so those who were already familiar with him felt no major breakthroughs. After a praise or two, everyone soon moved on.

However, this time, because of Zhao Youyue, even the “Always On Headlines” Topic Queen Nie Zisu could not make headlines anymore. Even when an apparent scandal between Liu Xingxing and herself came to light – nothing much happened.

Of course, Nie Zisu could not act as well as Liu Xingxing. She was by no means a bad actress. She had genuine talent, and her track record in her previous serializations have always been remarkable. Compared to other idols, she was a far better actress.

This time, she had given her utmost to the movie. It was probably her best performance yet, for she had been provoked by a certain someone’s cheat skills. Even so, she could not prevent herself from being suppressed by Zhao Youyue. Fortunately, Lin Meiyue had been written as a submissive character. Thus, even though she was suppressed on-screen – it was very much befitting of Lin Meiyue, so the audience thought that it was a job well done.

On the other hand, there was also nothing to talk about Nie Zisu’s acting skills. Just another side vase for a greater existence…

Everyone’s eyes turned to Zhao Youyue. Those who had followed the crowd and spread all sorts of criticisms before the film was released were rendered utterly speechless. When they saw all the articles that praised Zhao Youyue’s acting skills, they felt no greater shame!

The most influential article which placed Zhao Youyue’s acting skills under scrutiny was by a movie critic who was well-known for being extremely strict and critical. His name was Yang Guoying. He was a highly respected senior in the movie community who always highly recommended one particular actor that used to be in the movie “The Golden Era.”

Yang Guoying’s review was like so —- —-

“If it weren’t for my granddaughter who strongly recommended this movie, I definitely wouldn’t have watched it. After all, I’m already old, so why should I watch teenage movies? No matter how perfect the ending of a teenage movie is, it would just amount to torture for an old guy like me, but… (omit 300 words), I still went to see it in the end.”

“… Frankly speaking, nothing is surprising about the various aspects of the plot of Beautiful April. It’s way too puerile, but at least it’s sincere in its objectives. This was above average – at least. I expect moderate success… I don’t have much to say about the movie – there are enough reviews out there…”

“If there’s anything to add, it’s about Zhao Youyue’s acting. Some of you may say that enough people are already praising her acting, and it needs no more hype, so what else can I say about it? Well, let me tell you that you guys are not even praising her correctly. You don’t understand what it takes to really act like that!”

“I beseech of you, go watch just one of the late legend, Zhang Guorong’s works. Just once. There, you will find that Zhao Youyue is basically the Zhang Guorong of this generation!”

“Really, if it wasn’t for the fact that these two ladies look nothing a like, I would have suspected that I was staring at the resurrected Zhang Guorong in the face! I’m not blowing this up on purpose. I’m a huge Zhang Guorong fan, and I know how she acts. I would never do anything to disrespect her memory, so I’ll say this – when I saw Zhao Youyue’s acting, for an instance, I was positive that it was Zhang Guorong!”

…

Yang Guoying started talking about Zhao Youyue’s acting while analyzing Zhang Guorong’s acting in depth. The respect he had for the younger lady was no less than what he had for Zhang Guorong. He also confidently endorsed Zhao Youyue as the “Contemporary Zhang Guorong,” predicting that when Zhao Youyue films her second movie, they would witness the godlike Zhang Guorong once again!

Due to Yang Guoying’s influence in the movie community, his analysis of Zhao Youyue’s acting skills spread very quickly and was cherished by Zhao Youyue’s loyal fans. He made too much sense. It was what everyone had thought in their hearts, just that they did not know it yet. Of course, these fans have never watched any of Zhang Guorong’s movies. They just only knew that she was a highly prolific, respected actress who had made her mark in the history of movies. Still, it did not stop the fans from using Zhang Guorong to prop Zhao Youyue up.

After such praise and approval from a respected person, Zhao Youyue suddenly became the most prominent newcomer actress in the movie community.

After all, no matter the country, movie actors were always at the frontline of the entertainment industry.

When Zhao Youyue stepped into campus once again, the awe and bewilderment could only surpass the previous levels!