After the break, the recording started again.
In the ten minutes or so, Fei Ran came up with a good idea. He decided to save the second part of the Q&A session for the final round of scoring. In that case … even if something unexpected happened, it wouldn't matter. At most, this segment would be cut out along with the first half of Oscar's speech.
"Okay, thank you for your wonderful answers." Oscar continued where he left off and began his speech. "After this period of time, our expert panel has come to a conclusion. Now, we have added up the contestants' scores from the first round of 'Pen to Paper' and the second round of 'Pen to Paper' and listed their rankings. Everyone … please look at the big screen. "
As Oscar spoke, he raised his arm and pointed at the big screen on the side of the stage. The main camera panned over.
On the screen, from top to bottom, the pen names of the seven contestants were listed. In front of each pen name, there was an Arabic number in a circle. The details were as follows: ① Fire of the Night, ② Bandit General, ③ Chainsaw Rose, ④ Soda Water, ⑤ Spring Breeze Blows the Earth, ⑥ Elegant Tea, ⑦ Not Aware.
"Hmm … it's done, right?" Feng Bujue said, "In the first round, the first, second, fifth, and sixth places were hidden. In the second round, the judges added in the background. In this case … it doesn't matter how many votes the audience cast. I'm sure that during this time, the relevant votes and percentages have been done. Therefore, the rankings have been revealed confidently … "
"That is the ranking of the contestants so far in the revival contest. Is it consistent with your guess … "Oscar said to the camera." Of course, this is not the final ranking. Because … "
At this point, the lights on the stage suddenly dimmed. A beam of light descended from the sky and focused on Oscar.
"… We still have the final round of the final contest." Oscar continued the first half of his sentence and pointed at the camera. "The third round — Finishing Touch!"
Oscar then read out the rules of the third round.
Similar to the last time Brother Jue participated in the contest, the rules of Finishing Touch did not change. The program team would randomly send an envelope to each writer (it didn't seem to be random now). The envelope contained a stack of A4 papers. There was an unfinished novel of about a hundred thousand words printed on the paper. In addition, there was also a summary of the current plot of the novel by the editorial team of "I Am a Writer", which included characters, settings, general plot, and so on. The writers had a total of ninety minutes to read the synopsis, the main text, and write an ending to the book.
The basic idea of this round was … to understand the general outline as soon as possible, and then familiarize yourself with the author's writing style through the main text. Then, he would imitate this style of writing and write a somewhat reasonable final chapter after the current last chapter.
In all fairness, this was indeed the most difficult round. The previous "Turning Writing into Chapters" tested one's writing skills; the "Divine Pen" tested one's creativity; and this third round … tested far more than just those two skills.
In limited time, the writers had to read, understand, think, write quickly, and write well. The key was … the style of writing had to be similar to the original author's.
Finishing someone else's essay was perhaps the most difficult thing to do. Not to mention the extreme example of Dream of the Red Chamber … Who would have the confidence to finish a novel with mediocre writing and average creativity? If the original author couldn't finish it, it would be harder to finish it without leaving a trace, as if it was the original work.
Therefore, we have to be tolerant of works like "Dragon Ball GT".
Um … seems to be off topic.
Back to the topic …
"… The scoring criteria will be the same as before. The Finishing Touch will account for 40% of the total score, and the previous two rounds added up to 60% … "Oscar finished explaining the rules and then explained the scoring criteria." In this round, the audience can still only vote for the first round, not the second round. Naturally, our expert panel will also participate in this round of judging. Their opinions will account for one-third of the total score, and the remaining two-thirds … "He faced the audience and said solemnly," will depend on your choice … "
Following that, Oscar said some standard lines. He would say these lines in almost every episode of the show, such as the grading standards of the judges, their professionalism, and the hard work they had put in to organize the general outlines of the books. The audience also responded with applause.
While he was talking, several staff members came up to the stage under the cover of darkness and handed seven envelopes to the seven writers.
A few minutes later, Oscar finished saying what he needed to say and finally announced, "OK … I think everyone is getting impatient from waiting, so I won't be long-winded. The third round, Finishing Touch … Now …" He habitually paused for two seconds before saying, "Begin!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a countdown appeared on the big screen. The duration was 89: 59. At the same time, on the voting screen in front of the audience, an operable window appeared. Inside, the audience could see which novels the seven contestants had drawn, as well as the corresponding outlines.
This was a new policy that the show had implemented a few episodes ago … Many of the audience members had complained that the one and a half hour wait was too long, and they felt that there was nothing to do. In the previous shows, the seven writers' titles were displayed one by one on the big screen, but that had proven to be ineffective. So … they had changed it to this. The live audience members could browse the novels and read the outlines on their own during the ninety minutes. That way, they could share the information with the writers and kill some time.
…
Ten minutes after the start of the third round, backstage, in the lounge of Feng Bujue's "family and friends."
Due to the needs of the show, the contestants had to be in a special lounge to be filmed and interviewed alone. Therefore, the show had arranged a lounge for each contestant's entourage (assistant, bodyguard, driver, family and friends).
Dong dong — Feng Bujue knocked twice on the door.
No one answered, but someone opened the door.
An Yueqin seemed to know that it was Brother Jue even before she opened the door. She scolded him, "Why did you sneak out instead of focusing on the competition?"
"What's the rush … I'll go back in the last twenty minutes," Feng Bujue shrugged and replied.
"If I knew you were going to mess around like this …" Ruo Yu's voice came from behind An Yueqin, "… I wouldn't have come."
There were only two people in Feng Bujue's "family and friends" lounge. Using the excuse of 'I have decided to return the favor', Ruo Yu drove Brother Jue to the TV station, and then she refused to leave. An Yueqin, on the other hand, was on official business. After all, she was Brother Jue's editor. After seeing Feng Bujue's performance in the last round, she felt that it would be inappropriate if she didn't come here …
The two of them had been watching the live broadcast on the time-controlled TV in the lounge. Just now, Brother Jue had left his seat and walked backstage, so they naturally saw it.
"Hey, hey … Don't go back alone." Feng Bujue tilted his head and said to Ruo Yu, who was sitting on the sofa, across from An Yueqin, "You suddenly drove over to pick me up today, so I left in a hurry and forgot to bring my transportation card and wallet."
"Is this the time to worry about that?" An Yueqin also tilted her head and blocked Brother Jue's line of sight. "You are our magazine's specially invited writer. Have you thought about the chain reaction caused by your performance in this episode?"
Feng Bujue didn't answer directly. He first looked around to make sure that he wasn't being followed by the cameraman. He then walked into the room and closed the door behind him. Finally, he lowered his voice and replied, "What are you yelling about … I know what I'm doing."
"What do you know?" An Yueqin said in a slightly annoyed tone. "Do you think I don't know? You knew that Night Fire was going to make it to the finals, so you wanted to mess with him, right? "As she spoke, she returned to the sofa and sat down next to Ruo Yu.
"Ha! Do I look like someone who has nothing better to do? "Feng Bujue spread out his hands and replied with an innocent look on his face.
"Of course you do," the two on the sofa said in unison.
"Hmm … The two of you … have only known each other for a few hours, but I didn't expect you to be in cahoots with each other and target me …" Feng Bujue made a strange expression and took half a step back.
Ruo Yu raised her phone. "We have already exchanged email addresses …"
An Yueqin also raised her phone. "And some information about you …"
Both of them looked very calm, but their auras were as deep as the abyss, and their intentions were obvious. Feng Bujue instantly had a very bad premonition …
"Hmm … As long as you let me live, we can still be good friends …" Brother Jue replied seriously.
"Sigh, okay, stop talking nonsense. I know you must have some plan." Ruo Yu sighed. "But you better not go too far."
"If you can't restore your image and popularity by the end of the show," An Yueqin added. "Then I can't help you. Wash your neck and wait for our editor-in-chief and higher-ups to come looking for you."
"Ah … Don't worry …" Feng Bujue leisurely came to the sofa on the other side of the room and sat down. He looked at the TV screen on the wall. "I will give everyone a satisfactory answer …"
…
When there were only twenty minutes left for the "finishing touch", Feng Bujue strolled back from the lounge.
During this time, he had basically spent his time playing with his phone and chatting. Everyone else was reading and writing furiously. To be honest … Everyone present had already given up on the idea of making him cooperate with the recording. So when he said to the director that he was going backstage to take a break, Fei Ran did not stop him at all …
"Yo, Oscar, the audience interaction segment is finished." After Feng Bujue returned to the stage, he did not return to his seat. Instead, he ran to the side of the stage and chatted with Oscar, who was touching up his makeup.
"Yeah, even the advertising message and a few post-production monologues are recorded." Oscar sat still under the influence of a stylist. He did not dare to move at all. He could not even take a sip of water. "Eh? Where did you go? "
"I chatted with two friends for a while and took a break." Feng Bujue said, "It's too hot on the stage. The lights …" He leaned forward and looked at Oscar up close. "I say … With the makeup on your face, it can be used as a mask under the lights for a while, right?"
"That's right," Oscar replied. "Sigh … That's what we do." He paused. "By the way, Bujue … Even if you don't care about the result, it's not so good for you to be like this …" His expression shifted. "Last time you came, you used the excuse of 'I don't like the book' and did not write a single word in the third round. This time, you didn't even read it …"
"I've already read it." Feng Bujue interrupted him. "There's no need to read it again."
"Huh?" Oscar was startled.
Feng Bujue instantly explained with a smile, "Ha … It's like this. I've read the novel that I got a long time ago. One hour ago, I spent ten minutes to remember the content of the book through the outline and came up with a final chapter. "He shrugged." Based on my estimation, I can finish this chapter in fifteen minutes. So … I decided to go backstage to take a breather and organize my thoughts before coming back to finish it. "
"Ha …" Oscar also laughed. "That does sound like your style."
"For those who don't know me, they'll think I'm being very arrogant," Feng Bujue said.
"Of course, who knows what you're doing?" Oscar replied.
"Oh, by the way, I'm here because I have a favor to ask of you." Feng Bujue then added, "After the recording here is done, can you give me the 'voice-over interview' first?" He paused for a second before adding, "Because I wish to go back as soon as possible."
"Oh, it's nothing," Oscar said. "I'll inform the director in a bit."
"That's great, thank you," Feng Bujue said politely. "Then, I'll be going back to my seat."
"Hurry up and go. Be careful," Oscar said.
Brother Bujue smiled and turned to leave.
Oscar looked at his back and thought, One moment, he's so aggressive, and the next, he's so friendly … I really can't read you …
…
"Welcome back to I Am A Writer — Resurrection Night!" After the countdown ended, Oscar returned to the stage and started to perform before the camera. "Let's skip the small talk and welcome the unveiling of the finishing touch!"
He quickly walked to Contestant No. 1's seat and said, "Based on tradition, we will start with Contestant No. 1 …"
The rest of the announcement was done step by step. The contestants' chapters appeared on the big screen one by one, and next to them was the outline of the work that was being continued.
Along the way, Oscar joked and joked, and at the same time, he gave his compliments. He was indeed a master at creating the atmosphere. At the climax of the show, there was not even a minute of silence.
And the articles written by the writers were indeed of a high standard. Of course … compared to the standard of "I am a writer – feel free to criticize", it was still a little lacking. After all, this was the resurrection contest. In terms of the writers' ability, they were naturally not as good as that episode's lineup.
About twenty minutes later, Oscar finally arrived at Feng Bujue's seat for Contestant No. 6 …
"Then … let us take a look at Contestant Bujue's performance in this round." When Oscar said that, the content that Brother Jue wrote in fifteen minutes appeared on the big screen.
"Our main character has died just like that …"
That was the first sentence of Feng Bujue's final chapter.
After many people saw that, they wanted to curse because they had a hard time imagining what the rest of the chapter would be about …
But actually … this was not Brother Jue's fault. The book that he continued to write was, in essence, a lousy work. In the previous chapter, the original author had indeed written the main character to death. Even though the author's writing was not bad, and he made the main character's death quite tragic and touching, it could not hide the fact that it was a 'sudden death'. After he finished the part where the main character died, he abruptly ended the chapter and stopped writing.
It had to be said that … the envelope that Feng Bujue 'randomly' received was indeed scary. The novels that the others drew either had lukewarm plots and were only halfway developed, or had such a huge plot that the original author couldn't control it after writing it for a while. Only his novel … the author didn't forget to stab the main character in the back before he dropped it. Technically speaking, this could not be considered an unfinished novel anymore. It was a half-finished and half-unfinished novel that did not have any chapters …
However, Feng Bujue still managed to finish a decent chapter in twenty minutes.
"As the main character of a novel, he sure is sad. In fact, it makes me want to laugh. He still has so many things that he has not done, so many dreams that he has not realized, but he has ended it just like that … "
At this point, the audience still had a suspicious attitude. They had no idea what was going to happen next.
"But … perhaps this is his fate.
Along the way, he has brought us many smiles and tears. His success has made us happy, and his failure has made us pity. His courage has made us admire him, and his cowardice has made us introspect.
He struggles in pain, and grows in adversity; he swings like a clown, moans like a patient, thinks like a saint, and is greedy like a beast. He is noble, yet unbearable, smart, yet stupid, single-minded, yet affectionate … He lives like a madman who contradicts himself, just to make us laugh.
But when we peel off the surface and look again … he is just a person, a person who lives in our imaginary world. The meaning of his existence is just for our amusement. One day, we will forget him, just like we have forgotten many other characters.
Death is not his ending. His ending is no different from the other main characters … He will be forgotten. "
At this point, there was a paragraph break.
"Do you know about salmon? When they were still fish eggs, humans and some big birds turned them into a delicious meal.
Those that were lucky enough to survive drifted and grew in the ocean …
When they matured, they would migrate upstream, trekking thousands of kilometers to return to the water where they were born.
They crossed waterfalls and dams, jumping and advancing against the current. They escaped the claws of predators and crossed the endless current. They were wounded, but they moved forward bravely.
After many difficulties, they finally arrived at the calm lake, where their mother laid her eggs. Then, they used the last of their energy to give birth to their offspring and end their lives. It was a short and difficult life that was full of hardships.
Their corpses would become food for other animals, and their remains would become nutrients for trees. And their offspring … would follow in the footsteps of their parents and complete their life's mission. They knew that the end result was death, but they still followed this journey.
Just like the main characters of countless novels, they came and went, playing out scenes of ups and downs in front of us, but in the end, they would still be like the salmon. In just a few years … they had finished this short life.
To them, this period of time before our eyes is all they have.
The death of the characters was not the end. The end of the story was their rest.
So, although our main character still has a lot of things to do and a lot of dreams to achieve, as long as we remember him and remember the feelings he once brought to us, he did not live in vain. Even in the face of death, he would not hesitate and die without regrets. "
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