His Name

Xia Qing said in astonishment, "What do you mean, the role is gone?"

Yu Juan said, "It means someone else has already been given the role."

Xia Qing said, "That's impossible. Director Kong thought so highly of me at the audition. There were still actors waiting to audition, but he went ahead and told me the role was mine. Given to someone else? No way! The director clearly thought I was perfect for it!"

Yu Juan pressed her lips together, just as frustrated as Xia Qing, but the information she'd just received was absolutely certain.

Xia Qing's face slowly reddened, like a glowing coal, and her chest heaved.

"No. I'm calling the director. I have to get to the bottom of this!"

Xia Qing took out her phone and found Director Kong Teng's number in her contacts. She didn't call right away, instead pacing back and forth across the room four or five times before finally dialing.

"Hello, Director Kong." Xia Qing took a deep breath and spoke warmly.

"Yes, speaking," came the reply.

"Director Kong, it's Xia Qing. I auditioned yesterday for Chang Yu's role. You said I fit everything you'd imagined for the character. Do you remember?"

"I remember, I remember. You're the singer, right? You sing well. I often listen to your songs while I'm driving."

"Thank you, Director Kong. You're too kind."

"You're calling about the role, aren't you?" he asked.

"Yes, yes. Director Kong, my agent just told me the role has been given to someone else. Did you find someone more suitable than me? Director Kong, to be honest, I didn't understand Chang Yu's character very deeply when I auditioned. Over the past two days, I've read the script from beginning to end at least five times, and I've memorized most of Chang Yu's lines. I dare say I understand the character much better now than I did at the audition. Would you consider giving me a fair chance to compete with the person taking my place?"

"Xia Qing, to be honest, I haven't even met the actor replacing you. Perhaps we'll have a chance to work together another time, but I doubt it'll happen on this project." There was a brief silence before he answered.

"You haven't met her? Then how..." Xia Qing asked, puzzled.

"It was the screenwriter's decision. He said he'd met an excellent actress who was practically the spitting image of the Chang Yu in his mind. If some other screenwriter had said that, I probably wouldn't have believed him. But Screenwriter Li... Let's put it this way: I even think he could direct this show almost as well as I could."

"I'm telling you all this because I really do think you're right for the role. The screenwriter said he'd found someone suitable, but perhaps that's because he hasn't met you yet. One thing you can be sure of: Screenwriter Li is absolutely a man of good character. The actress he chose must have won him over with her talent, not through any improper means. If you can convince the screenwriter, I'd be glad to have you play Chang Yu."

After hanging up, Xia Qing felt her fighting spirit flare up again.

If the person replacing her had won the role through genuine acting ability, then she had nothing to fear.

She had faith in her own talent. She believed her performance as Chang Yu would be every bit as good as anyone else's.

If the other woman had no talent and had relied on her looks, then Xia Qing might truly have been powerless.

She had her principles.

But from what the director had said, Screenwriter Li was absolutely a man of good character. He wanted to replace Chang Yu simply because he thought he'd found someone who was a perfect fit.

But just as the director had said, Screenwriter Li had never even met her!

"So how can he know I, Xia Qing, wouldn't be an even better choice? Once he meets me, couldn't he decide that I'm actually the better fit?"

"Sister Yu, find out who got the role of Chang Yu!"

Knowing your opponent was the key to winning. She wanted to see just how good the acting was of the person who'd edged her out.

"Cao Shiyu. She graduated from the Central Academy of Drama and doesn't have any notable works. The only things I could find online were two commercials and a melodramatic anti-Japanese drama." Before long, Yu Juan handed Xia Qing her laptop and pointed to the information on the screen.

"No notable works—just two commercials and a maid role in a widely panned melodrama?"

Xia Qing suddenly gave a mocking laugh.

She felt as though Chang Yu's role had come back to her.

As long as the screenwriter really was as decent as the director said.

As long as Cao Shiyu hadn't gotten ahead through that sort of thing.

As long as the screenwriter still cared about acting ability and whether someone suited the role.

Then she still had a chance.

She might not have any notable works either. In her first two years after graduation, she'd also acted in several melodramatic anti-Japanese dramas, more than half of which had never even made it to release.

And if they compared acting experience alone, she and Cao Shiyu were practically evenly matched.

But for some reason, Xia Qing was sure her acting was better than Cao Shiyu's.

"Sister Yu, look up information on the screenwriter of Young Bao Qingtian, and see if you can arrange a meeting. I want to talk to him."

Yu Juan nodded and went to make a call.

Xia Qing opened one of Cao Shiyu's commercials.

One was for chewing gum, the other for shampoo.

After watching both commercials, Xia Qing felt even more confident.

"That woman certainly has a great look. She'd make a fine pretty face, but her acting... At least in these commercials, she wasn't as good as me. Though I have to admit, the other actress in my audition group was just a little better than I was!"

"If Director Kong wasn't lying, and Cao Shiyu really did win the screenwriter over with her 'talent,' then the role still belongs to me, Xia Qing. When it comes to real ability, I'm no worse than her!"

"Sister Yu, have you found anything about the screenwriter? I think we still have a chance at Chang Yu's role!" After seeing her rival's résumé, Xia Qing suddenly felt much more relaxed.

Yu Juan's expression was even grimmer than when she'd first heard the role had gone to someone else.

"Sister Yu, what did you find?"

Seeing Yu Juan's face, Xia Qing suddenly had a bad feeling.

"Xia Qing, the screenwriter of Young Bao Qingtian is named Li Xun!"

Xia Qing frowned instinctively.

Whenever she heard that name, something bad was sure to happen.

The time before last, she'd heard it in connection with the two songs—As Long As There Is You and Unburdened Heart—and the streak of topping the charts on every major platform whenever she released a new song had been broken.

Her mother had just mentioned that name several times on the phone, and then the role she'd thought was hers for sure had slipped away.

Now Sister Yu had found someone named Li Xun, and her expression had suddenly turned so grim.

"Could I really be destined to have bad luck whenever those two characters come up?"

Xia Qing didn't really believe in that kind of thing. Compared with some vague, unknowable fate, she believed people could overcome anything through their own efforts.

"Sister Yu, try to arrange a meeting for me. If he really is the person Director Kong described, then we still have a good chance."

Yu Juan stared at Xia Qing without moving.

Xia Qing said, "Sister Yu, why are you looking at me like that?"

Yu Juan said, "Xia Qing, the screenwriter of Young Bao Qingtian is called Li Xun!"

Xia Qing said, "What does his name have to do with anything?... Wait, are you saying they're the same person?"

Yu Juan nodded. "Don't you think it's a strange coincidence? You'd just released a new song when As Long As There Is You and Unburdened Heart came out, and then they successfully knocked you off the charts. You'd just gotten a role, and he immediately replaced you with someone who wasn't any more suitable than you. If Li Xun is that Li Xun, wouldn't that explain everything?"

Xia Qing shook her head and laughed. "Him? Write a script like Young Bao Qingtian? Impossible! Unless he's become a completely different person from head to toe. As Long As There Is You and Unburdened Heart happened to come out because we happened to choose the same release date as Young Bao Qingtian! There's no way. I know him too well. He doesn't have that kind of talent. He can't write scripts, and he can't write songs. He couldn't do it when we were together, and he couldn't do it after we broke up. He can't do it today, and he won't be able to do it tomorrow! His specialty is delivering a few dozen orders today and a hundred tomorrow. That's all!"

Silence fell over the room.

After about ten minutes, Xia Qing suddenly asked Yu Juan, "Sister Yu, is Penguin Video a Fortune Global 500 company?"

Yu Juan nodded. "Of course. Penguin Video made the Fortune Global 500 after it went public as an independent company. IQIYI Video did too."

Xia Qing stared blankly for a moment, then called her mother.