End of July, the temperature had gone up yet another notch.
Gold-Medal Screenwriter had not yet been officially announced but Gu Nian noticed that some sharper media in the circle had already noticed it and word was starting to spread.
Gu Nian had mailed out her contract with BH Media on the 12th. Unfortunately, both Jiang Xiaoqing and Qin Yuanyuan had been eliminated in the written and interview portions of the show in mid and late July, respectively.
Gu Nian did not like the outcome, but there was nothing she could do about it ––
In order to show that they were being fair, Gold-medal Screenwriter had told all of the screenwriters entering into the competition from the very beginning that the show had a total of four screenwriter spots. Two of them would be recommended by professionals in the field and two others would be selected through an audition. The outcome of the preliminary written test and their scores for the competitors of the two spots that would be filled through audition would be made public and the interview section would also be aired after editing.
Gu Nian had looked at the preliminary challenge. Its format was very similar to writing an essay in senior high school. Each competitor would be given a main element and they would be required to write a short script live.
And Jiang Xiaoqing's senseless script during the preliminary round…… all Gu Nian could say was: Her being eliminated made sense.
Per Qin Yuanyuan, who had entered into round two of the elimination, the interview focused a lot on the screenwriter's ability to set the scene and create the characters.
Qin Yuanyuan was alright with dialogues but creating characters was her weakness. It was quite obvious right away that she would not have made it through that round.
As such, it was very reasonable that neither one of them made it through. Gu Nian had no choice but to join the filming of Gold-Medal Screenwriter by herself.
August 6th, the day before the official beginning of autumn.
Gu Nian finally received the notification for the filming of Gold-Medal Screenwriter. Per the information provided in the message, she needed to pack sufficient change of clothes and toiletries for a week and the production team would send a ride for her the following day.
Even Gu Nian, who had always been calmly languid, was stunned by the message, "A week?!"
Jiang Xiaoqing, who had stuck her head over, was equally surprised. "A week's time is enough for a trip to Europe. Is the filming team taking you to travel the world?"
Hearing their discussion, Qin Yuanyuan, too, turned around. "What's a week?"
"The show that Gu Nian is joining." Jiang Xiaoqing pointed excitedly at Gu Nian's cellphone. "They're having her go for an entire week. I am guessing that they will be filming overseas! That's like an all-paid-for vacation! So envious!"
Qin Yuanyuan stopped and smiled, "Or, it could be like what we did last time. Way in some remote forest."
Jiang Xiaoqing, "…… Oh my. That's a scary thought. Gu Nian, check again and see if they said where you will be going."
Gu Nian looked again and shook her head, "No. And it might not necessarily be overseas."
"Hmm?"
"They had asked me previously for my identification information, but that seemed to be for the purpose of booking plane tickets and hotel rooms. They did not ask for my passport information."
"Oh, what a bummer."
Jiang Xiaoqing shriveled back into the chair. Both hers and Qin Yuanyuan's cell phones chimed at the same time.
Surprised, they picked up their respective cell phones.
Tens of seconds later.
Jiang Xiaoqing, "Oh my gosh! Look at this, Gu Nian!"
Gu Nian, "?"
A large cell phone screen was shoved in front of her eyes and Gu Nian had to lean backward to be able to see the screen. A very verbose new message in small print came from the same company as Gu Nian's––
[BH Media: My company is planning a new screenwriter training curriculum for candidates for Season Two of Gold-Medal Screenwriter. The training curriculum would be in a semi-closed off format with monthly stipend. Even though Miss Jiang did not receive the slot for the filming of this season's Gold-Medal Screenwriter, we were impressed by your performance and would like to invite you to join our training curriculum. Details on the curriculum have been sent to your email address.]
Gu Nian looked up excitedly when she finished reading it. "This sounds like a great opportunity!"
Qin Yuanyuan was hesitant with her cellphone in hand. "How do we know if this curriculum is legit?"
"They paid for room and board and stipend on top of that! As long as it isn't for profit, I say it's legit!" Jiang Xiaoqing had already logged into her email inbox. After skimming through the email, she lifted her phone and said, "5,000 yuan of stipend a month and the only condition is that to the extent that the offer was compatible, H Media must be our first choice in the future."
"……"