Stepping on the Demoness to become the strongest

To Yan Yu's surprise, the play written by Anna turned out to be quite interesting.

The female lead is a foreign princess stranded in a hostile land, hiding in a room only to be discovered by the male lead, an officer from the invading army. Moved by compassion, he decides to take her back to her country.

The two face numerous hardships on their journey, akin to overcoming eighty-one trials, yet there is also much sweet romance along the way. In the end, the princess returns to her homeland, but the male lead rejects her offer to stay and returns to his loyal troops.

Years later, the invading army is finally defeated, leaving every officer captured or exiled.

The male lead is hunted by the Allied Forces with nowhere to hide, until he sees the female lead leading her army to the border, extending a hand of support:

"Now it's my turn to redeem you."

A story like this, where the leads save each other, is a classic theme in romance dramas. Well done, Anna! You've become quite talented!

Yan Yu watched the opera with an appreciative eye, giving it a high score of 8. Although Anna was restless throughout, it was, after all, a public setting, nothing overboard could happen.

As the last note played, the audience began to leave the venue.

Just as Yan Yu planned to exit, Anna took his hand and led him to the backstage:

"We have quite a few of your fans among our actors, care to take a photo with them?"

"I have fans even at the Northern Border?"

"You once fought at the Northern Border." Anna replied.

In the backstage rehearsal room, Yan Yu signed autographs for the young actors and took photos, leaving the troupe satisfied.

"How do you feel?" Anna asked, leaning back against the ballet barre. "The play I wrote, is it alright?"

"I gave it an 8." Yan Yu replied, "If the pacing was a bit better, I'd give it a 9."

"Indeed, it needs revising." Anna promptly invited, "After watching it, I also noticed places needing cuts or additions. Could you give me some suggestions?"

The two sat in a corner and began reviewing the rehearsal script.

Judging by the writing style, Anna is quite the literary youth. Especially the romance between the leads, which slowly grows throughout the five-hour play, probably devoting at least two hours to their gradual heating up.

"Your romance scenes are too drawn out." Yan Yu commented, "This isn't an online novel where you fill every day. Viewers in the audience just sit here, doing nothing but watch the play. Did you notice? During the mid-late romance scenes, many viewers left."

"Indeed." Anna reluctantly nodded, "I just wanted their relationship to progress slowly, more reasonably, more relatable."

"Every creator faces the choice between personal vision and market success." Yan Yu smiled, "Take your time, no rush."

"No need to take time, I've decided." Like a magician, Anna pulled out a script from her arms, "Check this out, Plan-B."

Where did you pull that script from?

Yan Yu glanced amazedly and took her script, browsing carefully.

Yes, from a market viewpoint, indeed, it lacks the slow-paced literary scene but features more exciting scenes sure to captivate audiences. However…

"The censor boards won't approve this." Yan Yu noted.

"No worries." Anna was well-prepared, "I won't release this domestically, but in other countries' cinemas. See what you think."

"Pretty good, I think it's pretty good." Yan Yu earnestly replied.

As long as it can pass the censors, audience-favored scenes typically succeed well.

"No revisions needed?" Anna asked.

"I need to look closely." Yan Yu flipped through the script again.

"What's the use of just looking, let's rehearse a bit." Anna suggested with a smile, "The play's effectiveness is determined by the stage performance; reading lines doesn't show the full picture."

Your Yan Country map seems a bit short!

Looking over the script again, Yan Yu noticed some extremely intense sections, with many ellipses implying plot turns—knowing Anna's nature likely means delivering it all completely.

Of course, Anna enjoys acting before the actual performance, something Yan Yu sensed when she took him backstage.

Then let's rehearse!

After all, it provides the perfect reason to coordinate her schedule with Yuanzhen and Hongyu!

————————————

Acting is a tiresome endeavor.

It requires blending voice and emotion, as well as synchronizing posture and movement. Despite Yan Yu's strong body control skills, his voice lacked any cultivation, making his performance somewhat stiff.

Anna, however, acted naturally, with a clear and pleasant voice, her feelings deeply felt, even causing her voice to go hoarse by the end.

Well, the Witch may have unpredictable tricks, but her physical endurance is—nothing special!

After rehearsing, the duo started their journey back to Jinling Prefecture, with Anna planning to stay a while to facilitate discussions with Yan Yu...

...about careful revisions to the script.

Back at the villa, the ladies weren't surprised by Anna's arrival.

After all, the last remaining door upstairs still had her nameplate hanging on it!

"You really kept my room?" Anna asked, incredulously, upon reaching the second floor.