Hearing that, Xie Jianyuan recalled the way the man had treated him earlier. He frowned slightly, looking thoughtful.
"I don't know if it's just my imagination, but I get the feeling he doesn't like me very much." More precisely, it was dislike bordering on hatred. By rights, this was their first meeting, so why had he acted that way?
"How could that be? You must be imagining things." The female newcomer smiled dismissively, clearly unconvinced by what Xie Jianyuan had said. "Brother Xu Chun has a great temper. I've never seen him scold anyone."
Xie Jianyuan didn't want to dwell on the subject, so he casually picked up a carbonated drink from the table, took a sip, and smiled. "Maybe I'm overthinking it."
The female newcomer tactfully smiled as well, inching closer to Xie Jianyuan without drawing attention to it.
Although Xie Jianyuan had only debuted recently, he came from a good family and had top-notch connections and resources. His debut work had been a hugely popular costume drama, earning him a large following of young female fans. He could be called one of the hottest young stars around.
He had presumably come here today to audition for the film as well. The film had an enormous budget and a top-tier production team, and it had already generated a wave of online buzz before official casting even began.
The film was a suspense mystery about two biological brothers abandoned by their birth parents when they were young. They depended on each other in an indifferent city of steel and concrete until they were forcibly taken to a welfare home, where they suffered abuse.
But unexpectedly, while at the
orphan
age, the male lead woke up one day to find that his younger brother had disappeared. The people at the welfare home all said his brother had been adopted, but he didn't believe them and resolved to find him. He worked hard, becoming a police officer when he grew up, only to discover when he finally found his brother that he had become caught up in a massive conspiracy.
In recent years, suspense films had claimed an increasingly large share of the market, and actors and entertainers throughout the industry had set their sights on this prize. Today's auditions were a clash of the gods, and there was no telling who would fight their way through to win the lead role.
Even before the auditions began, the atmosphere outside the hall was tense. Quite a few people paced back and forth with their scripts, looking anxious and uneasy.
Amid such tension, the unruffled Xu Chun stood out all the more.
He had auditioned in his previous life too, but he hadn't expected the director to change the script at the last minute and ask him to perform it. Perhaps because he was more experienced, the director had held him to a higher standard, but Xu Chun had been caught off guard. Although he had managed to finish the performance and barely scraped a passing grade, he had fallen far short of the director's expectations.
The director was notoriously demanding, so naturally he had eliminated him.
And so Xu Chun had missed out on the film. It had been that year's box-office dark horse, causing a huge sensation and changing the status of suspense films in one stroke.
This time, he had to get that role!
Although Xu Chun wasn't very old, he had far more experience than many others. The staff respected him as a senior and would nod and greet him whenever they saw him.
"Xiao Chun."
A woman in a black knee-length skirt walked over. She was Xu Chun's agent, Su Li, and she handed him the hot coffee she was carrying.
"Still not your turn?"
Xu Chun took it and smiled. "It should be soon."
Su Li discreetly surveyed the people around them and lowered her voice. "I just saw Xie Jianyuan." She paused, remembering that Xu Chun might not know who he was, and added, "He's a newcomer who just joined the company, with a very powerful background. The higher-ups have decided to promote him using your name. They've even given him the nickname 'Little Xu Chun.'"
When she finished, she seemed to find it a little ridiculous herself. She pursed her lips and continued, "Looks like the higher-ups can't wait to make him a star."
To be honest, she was a little worried that Xu Chun's position was under threat. The newcomer not only looked like Xu Chun but also played similar roles. As the saying went, one mountain couldn't hold two tigers, so when she saw that he had come to audition too, she couldn't help feeling a little concerned.
"I wonder what role he's auditioning for," Su Li said.
Xu Chun noticed a figure slowly making his way toward the back of the crowd, and his gaze rested on him for a moment. Their eyes met for a few seconds before they both looked away at the same time.
"Who knows?"
Chapter 3: Scum Gong
After waiting for about an hour, Xu Chun finally heard his number called. Told to go in ahead of time, he handed the hot coffee to his agent, straightened his clothes, and pushed the door open.
He had worked with the actor ahead of him before. The man was fairly well known among audiences and could be considered something of a star, but now he stood in the middle of the room at a loss, his face burning with embarrassment as he listened to the director tear into him without mercy.
It looked like he would have to wait a few more minutes. Xu Chun took the opportunity to lower his head and continue reading his script.
The male lead, Song Ye, was an extremely difficult character to portray. He had a tenacity that kept any hardship from breaking his backbone. He seemed prickly all over, but was actually very innocent and at a loss when faced with kindness from others.
A true actor could slip into a role instantly and become the character completely, but even Xu Chun didn't dare guarantee that he could do it.
"All right, next." After finishing his criticism, Director Wang spoke with some impatience.
He had watched auditions all morning without seeing a single person who impressed him. Just as he was thinking this, he saw Xu Chun appear before him. He sat up a little straighter, his interest piqued.
He did have some expectations for Xu Chun. The man was talented, professional, and willing to work hard, without the bad habits of other top-tier actors.
With that in mind, his tone involuntarily softened a little. "Xu Chun, what scene are you auditioning with today?"
The door was pushed open from outside. Presumably, the next person had also come in to wait ahead of time. Xu Chun heard the door open but didn't turn to look, focusing instead on answering Director Wang's question.
After listening to Xu Chun's answer, Director Wang hummed in acknowledgment, twirling a ballpoint pen in his hand. "If you only perform a scene you've prepared in advance, I won't be able to see your true abilities. I'd like to test how well you can adapt on the spot. What do you say?"