Chapter 50

Chapter 50

“Whew~”

Lu Chen let out a silent breath. Now that he had found the method, it was time to switch into actor mode!

This time was completely different from the last round. His approach would be more like a group chat. Through conversations, he would let Gao Qiqiang slowly reveal his own story.

The same would go for An Xin, Gao Qisheng, and the others. So once he started, he needed to fully commit to the act—To push the story forward as if it were already set in stone!

Simply put, Lu Chen didn’t plan to start writing yet. In fact, he wanted to take a nap first.

Why?

To kill time and make it look like he was deeply immersed in thought. So when he finally started writing, it would feel justified and well-prepared.

The audience would think,

Wow, he took so long to think! He must have an incredible story in his head now!

Then, when Lu Chen began writing in chat format, pulling out the story bit by bit—It would appear logical and convincing!

So…

First, sleep.

Once he was well-rested, he’d start writing The Knockout.

As always, “acting” was key.

Half pushing, half performing.

For now, Lu Chen adjusted the lighting in his room to a dim, sleep-friendly level. Then he lay back down on the sofa, hands folded behind his head, eyes closed.

Preparing for sleep…

After all, this round lasted five hours. And the show gave hourly reminders. Even if he slept for an hour, four hours would be more than enough to write The Knockout.

Thanks to the room’s soundproofing, Lu Chen soon drifted into light drowsiness. Meanwhile, in the livestream, the viewers were completely dumbfounded.

【Wait… bro… aren’t you in a competition? What the hell does dimming the lights and lying down mean?】

【I’m not blind, right? This is the Top 16 advancement round, and he’s sleeping!】

【WTF is this strategy! Others have already written over a thousand words, and you’re calling it a night!】

【Can someone explain what the hell is going on?】

【Relax, he must be preparing an incredible story.】

【Preparing my ass! He’s obviously stuck!】

【LMAO, while everyone else is grinding away, this guy is sleeping on the job! What a madman!】

【I have never seen anything this ridiculous in my life.】

【Dude thinks he’s too good after writing Breaking the Ice—now he’s showing off.】

【Cut the BS, bro. Just write already.】

Even Lu Chen’s longtime fans were shocked.

Could it be that the haters were right?

Had Lu Chen let success get to his head?

No way!

This had to be a strategy!

Dimming the lights? Lying down?

It had to be for better story immersion!

Yeah! Definitely!

He’d get up any second now!

…

Ten minutes passed, Lu Chen was still lying motionless on the sofa chair. Now even his biggest fans were breaking down. With over three million viewers, some couldn’t take it anymore. They left the stream to watch other contestants.

After all, they came to watch a writing competition, Not a man sleeping. As a result, Lu Chen’s viewer count plummeted.

Meanwhile, back at the judges’ panel.

The judges had just finished their round of inspections. Upon returning to Lu Chen’s stream…

They saw a completely darkened room.

And when they looked closer…

All four judges, plus Xiao Sa, were stunned.

“Wait… why isn’t he writing? Why is he asleep?”

Chen Sicheng had a giant question mark floating above his head.

Shu Ping and Yan Geling were equally baffled.

Xiao Sa was speechless.

“I mean… I know this round’s prompt is tough. I saw many contestants scratching their heads in frustration. But Lu Chen… dude, isn’t sleeping a bit too much?”

“Maybe he’s not actually sleeping—maybe he’s thinking?”

Yan Geling tried to defend him.

Shu Ping sighed.

“This prompt is really hard. Compared to last round, the restrictions are even tighter. A lot of contestants have fallen into similar ideas—most are writing about a fish vendor’s daily life or love story.”

“One contestant had a cool twist—where the fish vendor was an undercover spy.”

Yan Geling chuckled.

“Yeah, at least it had an innovative angle. But the writing felt too much like a cheap webnovel—too shallow. The plot was weak, and the suspense didn’t hold up.”

Shu Ping critiqued.

“I think Contestant #9 did well. A female fish vendor, strong female lead—pretty interesting.” Chen Sicheng added.

Yan Geling rolled his eyes.

“Come on, did you not notice?

Her story is just another cliché romance—Rich CEO, childhood sweetheart, every male character is either handsome or charming. It’s just an ugly duckling-to-swan fantasy.”

“Hey, there’s nothing wrong with romance!

This genre is popular, it sells—what’s the problem?” Chen Sicheng argued.

Yan Geling sighed.

Chen Sicheng’s mindset was too commercial. They were clearly on different wavelengths. Screenwriting should be commercial—but not only commercial. It needed artistic integrity too.

Sometimes, art should take priority over profit. That was what made stories memorable.

Just like in Let the Bullets Fly—when they said, “We must earn money standing tall, not kneeling!”

Chen Sicheng…

Well, whether he was kneeling or not, who knew?

But he definitely wasn’t standing tall.

Back to Lu Chen’s stream, twenty more minutes passed. The judges checked back. Lu Chen was still lying down. Xiao Sa’s eye twitched.

Bro… you’ve been lying there for FORTY minutes.

Even Shu Ping and the others were losing patience. They said nothing, just exchanged glances and left again.

Meanwhile, in the live chat, Viewers were losing their minds.

【I can’t take this anymore—I’m switching streams. If I wait any longer, I’ll fall asleep too!】

【I’ve scrolled through a hundred Douyin videos, and this guy is STILL sleeping.】

【Should we call the production team? Maybe something’s wrong—he’s been motionless for too long!】

【Yeah, he’s probably just… asleep. What else could it be?】

【This is your so-called writing genius? What a joke.】

【Some people can’t handle a little success. Once they get famous, they get cocky.】

【I’m out! I came here for writing, not a sleep stream!】

Viewership dropped below 600,000.

Elsewhere—Even film industry executives were bored to death.

Jiaxing Media HQ—Yang Mi yawned.

Sitting beside her were Director Qin and Reba.

“What’s wrong with this guy? It’s supposed to be a writing livestream, not a sleep livestream.”

Yang Mi sounded exasperated.

Director Qin checked the time.

“Boss, in ten minutes, we can start bidding on scripts. Should we—?”

“Bid on what? He hasn’t written a single word!” Reba was confused.

Yang Mi hesitated.

“Let’s wait a bit longer. Maybe he’ll wake up soon.”

Other film studios were having the same problem. They had rushed in to bid for scripts—Only to see a man sleeping for an hour.

How the hell were they supposed to bid on that?

Tiger had already played two rounds of Honor of Kings. When he glanced at his phone, Lu Chen was still lying there!

Tiger couldn’t help but sigh.

“Every year brings its fair share of weirdos, but this year is something else!”

…