Chapter 372: Chapter 372

The male students’ chaotic antics actually could’ve been stopped by the production assistant starting on day 3.

But they didn’t expect the same antics to continue on days 4, 5, and so on. By the time they wanted to intervene, it was already too late. They could only let the madness unfold.

Ironically, the production assistant had a vague feeling in their gut—maybe these shenanigans might end up yielding some unexpected impact after all.

Afterward, the production assistant and the cameraman sent today’s videos to the assistant director, asking them to vet the footage first.

As expected, the assistant director started sweating just after casually clicking on a few clips.

These damn kids, how are they this capable of causing chaos? Follow current novᴇls on 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭•𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮•𝘯𝘦𝘵

Unsure of what to do and wavering over the decision, the assistant director finally instructed the production assistant and cameraman to send the videos to Qin Jiaxiang, letting the head director make the final call.

Faced with such unreliable footage, the assistant director had half-expected Qin Jiaxiang to reject it outright and demand a reshoot. Unexpectedly, not only did he refuse to call for a reshoot, he even instructed the crew to immediately release the personal intro videos of the trainees via the official account.

Stunned by Qin Jiaxiang’s decision, the assistant director blurted, "Director Qin, what kind of game are you playing here? Aren’t you afraid this is going to reflect poorly on the production team?"

"Heh." Qin Jiaxiang let out a cold laugh. "They love reverse promotion, don’t they? Fine, we’ll roll with the young people’s ideas and pull off some reverse promotion ourselves."

Initially, Qin Jiaxiang had planned to release these promotional videos closer to the movie’s premiere. After seeing the trainees’ chaotic videos, however, he decided to change his strategy—why not intentionally create some contrast?

In the film, these fools play one serious role after another. But once these embarrassing promo clips go public, audiences will naturally associate them with goofy, clumsy characters, which will inexplicably lower their expectations for the actors’ performances.

When the movie premieres, these fools’ acting will undoubtedly surprise the audience.

Qin Jiaxiang had this confidence. He chose actors according to one golden rule: their faces had to suit the characters. With that as the foundation, half of their success in portraying the roles was already guaranteed. As long as they showed even a modicum of effort and polished their craft, they’d surely win over the audience.

The only issue was that most of these actors were newbies. Even with professional acting guidance, it was impossible to ensure that every one of them would "get it." There would always be a few slow learners who just couldn’t grasp it.

But releasing the chaotic promo videos in advance changed the game. Lowering audience expectations meant that as long as their performance in the film reached a 60% rating, audiences would naturally raise that to an 80% score.

Using a debut film mixed with a touch of opportunistic maneuvering, they could successfully carve out a slice of the market. As for how far they could go as actors in the future—it all depended on how much effort they were willing to put in.

As a director, he’d already given them everything he could—big-name director, high-budget production, built-in buzz... All the essentials were there. Now it was up to these dimwits to seize the opportunity.

As for the male students’ videos, Qin Jiaxiang had approved their release. Regarding the female students’ videos, however, he hadn’t clearly conveyed his stance. The assistant director hesitated and asked, "Director, what about the girls’ group? Should we release theirs too?"

Qin Jiaxiang almost blurted out without hesitation: "Release them, of course. Gender equality, right?"

The assistant director couldn’t understand Qin Jiaxiang’s logic. Releasing both the male and female students’ videos together seemed like an obvious attempt to squash the boys’ group underfoot.

The girls’ group clearly had put more thought into their performances. Comparing the two, the male students would probably get mocked even harder.

Yet Qin Jiaxiang had already offered enough explanations. It was clear that he didn’t want to discuss it further with the assistant director.

Sensing Qin Jiaxiang’s reluctance, the assistant director didn’t press the matter. After hanging up the call, they went off to arrange the task.

After the call ended, the corner of Qin Jiaxiang’s lips curled slightly, and he let out a prideful, cold snort.

Letting the male students embarrass themselves was simply because he didn’t hold high expectations for some of their abilities. Using this underhanded tactic to lower audience expectations was the only way to pull off some reverse promotion for them.

However, the girls’ group was a completely different story. Each of them had outstanding skills. Though Sang Ning lacked in acting a little, she was a gifted learner with strong potential. Qin Jiaxiang wasn’t worried at all about the girls’ group setting audience expectations too high with their promo videos, as they’d only continue to exceed those expectations time and time again.

As for the assistant director’s concern—the boys being mocked harder due to the girls’ polished performances—this was entirely within Qin Jiaxiang’s calculations.

Let them mock. Now, the audience’s ridicule would serve as a protective shield for these fools. When the film finally hit the theaters, with their characters’ charm backing them up, the peanut gallery would inevitably have a "pleasant surprise" moment.

According to Qin Jiaxiang’s instruction, the program’s official account released all the trainees’ promotional videos online.

This film had built-in buzz, and despite the trainees still being in training camp, it had already garnered significant online attention. Up until now, aside from the lead roles, the public had no idea who else was in the cast.

Now the official account had gone all in—not only announcing the cast members but boldly uploading their self-introduction videos as well.

Fueled by curiosity, hordes of netizens flocked to the account to watch the clips.

Initially, their expectations were sky-high. After all, this was an international hit-maker Qin Jiaxiang directing the project. Naturally, they’d assumed the cast would have sophisticated "movie star" personas.

But after watching these absurd and silly videos, the netizens collectively fell silent.

Sure, their faces looked sophisticated, but their brains seemed... oddly unsophisticated.

[I came in grinning ear to ear and left the same way—except this time it was out of pure disdain. The excitement of seeing handsome guys turned into utter disappointment after witnessing this herd of uncivilized monkeys.]

[Is Director Qin losing it? His past works were pretty international in style, but what’s going on here? The casting feels like it’s not just down-to-earth but on its way straight to the underworld. What are these creatures?]

[Let’s keep things in perspective. The boys’ group is indeed quite subpar, but the girls’ group is genuinely impressive.]

[To be fair, Sang Ning’s aura is undeniably strong. Rarely does anyone in the female celeb world outshine her. Somehow, though, standing next to those three other ladies, her aura doesn’t dim at all. In fact, each one’s unique qualities come to life—like a perfect gallery of stunning beauties. Absolutely love it, so visually captivating!]

The online comments were completely split into two extremes—mockery for the boys’ group and praise for the girls’ group.

Originally, the male trainees were still hoping for another chance to reshoot their videos. But when they checked in again with the staff, they found out that the director had sold them out without their knowledge.

As they stood there, stunned into silence, the staff slyly showed them the comment threads on Weibo.

The male students collectively bawled and beat their chests in despair. They realized they’d been used as a stepping stone for the girls’ group—essentially a thankless sacrifice.