ASFSODS 91

Director Xu, Xu Yulin, was the same director Jiang Siheng had introduced Wen Chi to before and it was said that Jiang Siheng was currently working with him.

“Congratulations, you get to spend day and night with your husband again.” Jin Ge’s tone was dripping with sarcasm. He had never liked Jiang Siheng for stealing his little cabbage, but unfortunately his little cabbage was especially fond of Jiang Siheng.

Wen Chi chuckled, originally thinking he wouldn’t be able to see Jiang Siheng for several months. If he succeeded in this audition, then he and Jiang Siheng could be together for quite a long period.

Jin Ge saw his silly expression and scolded him impatiently. He couldn’t help but remember that before entering the show, Wen Chi was the one saying he had locked his heart away and only wanted to focus on making money.

The contact directly told Wen Chi to go to the soundstage where the crew was located for the audition. Wen Chi had taken quite a few extra roles before, and back then, if he walked through the studio, the staff members would have completely ignored him. Yet now, when those staff carrying props saw Wen Chi appear in the studio, they all paused slightly in surprise.

“Hello, Teacher Wen.”

“Good afternoon, Teacher Wen.”

“Hello, Teacher Wen.”

Almost the entire way, people greeted him. Wen Chi was not used to it so he just smiled awkwardly and nodded back.

Sangsang whispered to Jin Ge excitedly, “Jin Ge, with so many people greeting Chi Ge, does that mean he’s no longer some unknown little star?”

Jin Ge said, “Xiao Chi does have a certain level of popularity now, but it’s still not enough. Didn’t you notice that quite a few people were actually looking at Xiao Chi with unfamiliarity and doubt?”

Following his gaze, Sangsang realized that indeed many staff only glanced at them before going back to work.

Just then, a man jogged over, relief flashing in his eyes when he saw Wen Chi. He walked quickly forward. “Teacher Wen, I’m so sorry. I wanted to meet you outside but something held me up. I apologize.”

Wen Chi blinked. “Ah? Oh, no problem.”

“I’m Xiao Tang, Director Xu’s assistant. You should’ve met me before,” said Xiao Tang.

Wen Chi looked at him for a few seconds, then remembered. “Yes, I’ve seen you.”

Xiao Tang smiled. “Director Xu is already waiting for you. Please follow me.”

At the door of a room, Jin Ge and Sangsang stopped outside. As the agent and assistant, they could only wait while the artist auditioned.

“Good luck, Chi Ge,” Sangsang encouraged softly.

Wen Chi waved at her. “Don’t worry, I’ll bring back good news.”

Holding his resume, Wen Chi walked inside. Xiao Tang followed him and closed the door behind them, blocking outside views.

In the corner were piles of items. Director Xu sat behind a rectangular wooden table with a man and woman on either side. All three held a notebook. Hearing the sound, they looked up together.

Director Xu glanced at Wen Chi, quickly looked him over, then lowered his head back to the documents. His expression didn’t change, as if they had never met before. To Wen Chi, it almost felt like their past meeting had been a dream.

Wen Chi hadn’t expected Director Xu to show him any kindness anyway. He placed paper resumes on the table, one for each of them, and began his self-introduction.

When the man and woman beside Director Xu saw the résumé in front of them, they were slightly stunned, because the two of them had been pulled in at the last minute. Normally, Director Xu wouldn’t have told Wen Chi that there would be several “interviewers.”

“You’ve finished reading the script, right?” Director Xu asked, looking up after Wen Chi’s introduction.

“Yes, I’ve finished.”

Director Xu made a sound of acknowledgement, flipped the script, stopped at a random page, tapped a section, and pushed the script toward him. “Act out this part for me.”

Wen Chi picked up the script and took a glance. The scene Director Xu had chosen was a confrontation between the supporting character, Wen family’s young master Wen Weiyang, and the male lead, Sui Jieyu.

The backstory was that Wen Weiyang had witnessed his own relative being killed by Sui Jieyu, who had lost control under the influence of his inner demons. In that instant, the friendship between the two was shattered. Knowing that his martial skills were not enough to defeat Sui Jieyu and avenge his relative, Wen Weiyang was consumed by obsession and turned dark overnight. His martial arts broke through to a new level, and he became a figure walking the line between good and evil, acting solely according to his own mood. He was no longer the optimistic, kindhearted Wen family young master who once upheld justice.

Although Wen Weiyang was only a supporting character, he held a very important role in the overall storyline. The scene Director Xu had chosen was already set after Wen Weiyang’s descent into darkness, where he was confronted and questioned by several of his former close friends.

“Alright.” Wen Chi glanced at the scene he was supposed to perform, then put the script back on the table.

Seeing that Wen Chi just glanced at the script and then set it down, the man asked in surprise, “You don’t need to keep looking at the script? You remembered it all after just one glance?”

Wen Chi smiled. “Yeah, I remembered it all.”

Hearing that, the man said nothing more. He crossed his arms, and his expression instantly turned serious. 

Wen Chi stepped back a pace, closed his eyes to recall the scene in his mind, and when he opened them again, his entire aura had completely changed.

At that moment, he had become “Wen Weiyang,” who had just lost his family.

…

In the hallway outside, Sangsang and Jin Ge were leaning against the wall waiting. It was taking a while and the longer they waited, the more worried Sangsang became. She turned and asked Jin Ge, “Why isn’t Chi Ge out yet? I remember auditions didn’t usually take this long.”

Jin Ge reassured her, “That means there’s a better chance he’ll get the part.”

“Is that how it is?” Ever since that incident last time, Sangsang had developed a psychological shadow about Wen Chi going in alone for auditions. Even though Jin Ge was here now, she still couldn’t feel at ease.

Seeing the look on Sangsang’s face, Jin Ge immediately guessed what she was thinking and said, “Don’t worry. Did you forget? Back then, Jiang Siheng introduced Director Xu to Xiao Chi. If Director Xu were really the same kind of person as Chen Han, Jiang Siheng would never have let him meet Xiao Chi.”

Though that sounded reasonable, Sangsang still glanced around at the staff passing by from time to time and whispered, “Jin Ge, is it really okay for you to call Teacher Jiang’s name out loud like that?”

Jin Ge scoffed and put on a fearless look. “Hah, he’s the one who stole my Xiao Chi away.”

Sangsang: “…” If your voice hadn’t suddenly dropped, I might’ve actually believed you.

Five more minutes passed before the door finally opened from inside. Jin Ge and Sangsang, who had been standing lazily, immediately straightened up and stared nervously at the door.

As soon as Wen Chi stepped out, he met their anxious gazes and paused, a little confused. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Since the three of them were blocking the doorway, they moved to a corner where they wouldn’t disturb others. As soon as they stopped, Jin Ge grabbed Wen Chi’s arm and asked how the audition went.

Wen Chi grinned and Jin Ge immediately had the urge to smack him.

“What’s with that look?” Jin Ge said with a laugh of mixed irritation and amusement.

“I got the part. I’m joining the crew tomorrow.” Wen Chi had wanted to announce it calmly, but the moment he said he passed the audition, he couldn’t help the smile that tugged at the corners of his lips.

The moment Jin Ge heard that Wen Chi had passed the audition, he was so happy he almost wanted to laugh up at the sky. He patted Wen Chi’s shoulder with a bit of force and said,
“You kid, not bad at all! So, when are you signing the contract?”

Wen Chi winced and took a step back, clutching his shoulder with a grimace. “I’ll sign later. Xiao Tang will reach out to me.”

“Alright, alright.” Jin Ge pulled out his phone and tapped on it. “Do you need to stay at the hotel the crew booked?”

“Yeah, Director Xu said if anything  comes up, it’s easier to handle if we’re all staying at the same hotel.”

“Got it. We only booked one night anyway. What’s the hotel called? I’ll book it.”

“No need. The crew already arranged it,” Wen Chi replied.

Jin Ge paused mid-tap on his booking app and looked at Wen Chi with suspicion. “Did Jiang Siheng book it for you?”

Seeing Jin Ge’s expression, Wen Chi’s mouth twitched. “No, A-Heng doesn’t know I’m in this project.”

“He doesn’t know? Isn’t he the male lead of this drama? I remember your script also has scenes where you go head-to-head with him,” Jin Ge said in surprise.

“Doesn’t know.”

Jin Ge rubbed his chin, his expression very meaningful. “Now this is interesting.”

Wen Chi: “…”

Wen Chi recalled how Director Xu had just reminded him not to tell Jiang Siheng for now that he was joining the crew. Looking at Jin Ge again, he realized Jin Ge’s expression was exactly the same as Director Xu’s earlier.

All middle-aged men who liked to stir things up.

…

Just after Wen Chi left the room, Director Xu closed the script with satisfaction, turned his head to look at the two beside him, and said, “Well? Wen Chi fits the role of Wen Weiyang pretty well, right?”

The man nodded. “He’s quite a fit. His emotional delivery just now was very well done.”

The woman crossed her legs and twirled her long wavy hair. “Haven’t you already decided to sign him? Why are you even asking us?”

“Just going through the motions,” Director Xu said, waving over Xiao Tang and quietly telling him to prepare three contracts.

The man was taken aback. “We’re signing the contract right away?”

“The script read-through is tomorrow afternoon. The costume fitting is the day after. I don’t have the time to keep scouting others,” Director Xu said.

These two had also been present during the auditions for the role of “Zhou Mian.” The woman was Qin Minzhi, the producer, and the man was Zhang Chenhua, the screenwriter.

Qin Minzhi said, “I looked through Wen Chi’s resume. He has only acted minor roles before, nothing major. Won’t he get overshadowed when acting opposite other actors?”

One actor being overshadowed by another is a common problem during filming. For example, some newcomers act well on their own, full of spirit, but when put opposite veteran actors, they suddenly fall apart, their emotions suppressed by fear or lack of confidence. If the issue isn’t fixed quickly, it delays production.

Zhang Chenhua glanced at her sideways and said, “At least he’s better than that singing-dancing idol you recommended before. At least this guy has some acting foundation.”

Qin Minzhi was so angered by the sarcasm in Zhang Chenhua’s words that her temper flared instantly. “Zhang Chenhua, you were there when Zhou Wei auditioned. If you weren’t satisfied back then, why didn’t you just say so directly? Instead, you wait until we’re about to start shooting to complain about this and that. If you’ve got the ability, then go ahead and find an actor who fits the role of ‘Zhou Mian’ better than Zhou Wei!”

She emphasized the last word, “actor,” with deliberate bite.

Zhang Chenhua said nothing.

Sitting between the two of them, Director Xu’s expression was calm and composed. He wasn’t the least bit surprised at their sudden quarrel, as if he was already used to it.

After a while, Xiao Tang came back with the three drafted contracts and placed them in front of Director Xu.

Director Xu picked them up, flipped through quickly, and said to Xiao Tang, “Go call Wen Chi and his manager to come sign the contracts.”

Xiao Tang agreed and was about to leave.

“Oh, and one more thing,” Director Xu called out to Xiao Tang, looking at him. “By the way, let the other crew members know—don’t mention for now that Wen Chi is joining the production.”

Although puzzled, Xiao Tang still followed the instruction. “Understood.”

Zhang Chenhua and Qin Minzhi also didn’t understand what Director Xu meant, but since it wasn’t something they should ask about, they didn’t press further.

Though they had said they would sign the contract later, Xiao Tang came to fetch them in less than half an hour.

Wen Chi hadn’t expected it to be so quick. When he stepped into the room again, only Director Xu was inside.

Xiao Tang closed the door and went off to carry out the task Director Xu had assigned him.

Director Xu looked at Wen Chi with a smile and said, “I scared you just now, didn’t I?”

Wen Chi shook his head. “No.”

“There were others around just now, so I couldn’t act like I knew you,” Director Xu explained.

“It’s fine, I understand.”

“It’s good that you understand.” Director Xu handed the contract to Wen Chi and Jin Ge. While the two of them were looking it over, he added, “But the fact that we knew each other before will eventually be found out by people who haven’t seen that show you were on. If you don’t want others with an agenda to use it to stir up gossip, then you’ll have to rely on your own strength to leave them no room to exploit.”

Seeing no problems with the contract, Wen Chi bent down to sign his name, then straightened and looked at Director Xu, answering seriously, “I will.”

Director Xu was very satisfied with Wen Chi’s attitude. After a moment, he added, “Oh, by the way—don’t tell Jiang Siheng about you joining the production yet. I’ve already told Xiao Tang and the others to keep it under wraps for now.”

Actually, Wen Chi didn’t quite understand why he couldn’t tell Jiang Siheng about this. Yet before he could even ask the reason, Jin Ge jumped in first with a cheerful reply, “Of course, we’ll do as you say.”

Wen Chi: “…”

Manager, the look in your eyes about wanting to stir up trouble, don’t make it too obvious.