Audition

Audition

When Lu Heng received the audition notice, filming for Exchanging Lives had also happened to reach its final stage.

Although Fang Kaizhi had personally favored Lu Heng for a role in the script based on his looks, temperament, personality, and brave performance, he could not ignore the opinions of the production company, investors, and even the screenwriter. Especially after he had firmly rejected the actors recommended by the company and some of the investors, he needed even stronger reasons to persuade everyone to accept his choice.

So when Lu Heng arrived for the audition, he saw an unusually complete gathering: director Fang Kaizhi, assistant director Yu Shuisen, who was in charge of casting, the production supervisor, two representatives sent by the investors, the film's male and female leads Yue Sennan and Zhou Jingxiao, as well as Rong Xiu, who played the second male lead.

The whole cast was practically here!

Lu Heng wore a Peking opera practice outfit of a white shirt and black trousers, cloth shoes with layered soles, and no makeup. Simply dressed, simply standing there, he resembled a pine or cypress standing proud against snow and frost. Even his overly delicate, gentle features could not conceal the upright vigor radiating from him.

Everyone seated in the audition room could not help but brighten.

Fang Kaizhi smiled in satisfaction and said, "Judging purely from his appearance, Lu Heng's looks and temperament suit the character setup of the male lead Cen Qiubai as a child quite well. And there's no need to mention his Peking opera foundation—we've all watched Exchanging Lives. Let's try a dramatic scene, then."

No one objected.

The casting director handed Lu Heng a sheet of paper. It contained the scene he would be auditioning for.

An audition meant having an actor read a section of dialogue from the script to observe their command of dialogue and whether they understood the role well enough.

Since Fang Kaizhi was already very satisfied with Lu Heng's appearance, temperament, and overall qualifications, the excerpt he had chosen was simple. It was the scene of young Cen Qiubai's first appearance. To help Lu Heng immerse himself in it, Fang Kaizhi had even specifically arranged for the casting director to act opposite him.

Lu Heng lowered his head and glanced at the script, immediately understanding.

The film was called Autumn Dew White, an artistic film set during the War of Resistance. The male lead, Cen Qiubai, had been born into a Peking opera family and had studied martial male roles from childhood under the influence of his elders. Perhaps because he had grown up surrounded by it, he possessed a chivalrous heart and passionate spirit. He loved defending the weak, and after growing up, he joined the revolution. Using his status as a famous opera performer to move among high society, he stole many secrets, sabotaged enemy operations, and saved the lives of numerous revolutionary patriots.

Lu Heng was to play Cen Qiubai as a child, and the scene he would audition for was the plot at the very beginning of the film, when he first met the second male lead.

The second male lead, Han Lusheng, had lost both parents at a young age. Because he was good-looking, his immoral elder brother and sister-in-law had sold him to a male brothel. Just as they were dragging him there, he was rescued by the passing male lead. Taking pity on Han Lusheng's background, the male lead begged his father to buy back his freedom. His father took a liking to Han Lusheng's appearance and voice, letting him remain with the opera troupe to specialize in qingyi female roles.

As Lu Heng read this section of the script, scenes from the film surfaced before his eyes.

In his previous life, he had debuted at fourteen. Having become famous at a young age, his schedule had been packed, leaving him with few chances to watch films or television dramas, especially artistic films that did not suit his usual acting path at all.

Yet Sun Shuliang had still forced him to watch Autumn Dew White, because the film had been too famous. Fang Kaizhi had pursued the path of making artistic films for awards. After filming wrapped, before it had even been released domestically, it was submitted directly to the world's four major film festivals and successfully entered the main competition sections. It subsequently won Best Supporting Actor at the Cannes Film Festival and the country's first Palme d'Or, then brought home the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.

For a time, the global entertainment industry was shaken. Domestic media went nearly mad with promotion and praise. Almost every artist appearing on a program or giving an interview would be asked, "What are your thoughts on Autumn Dew White winning the Palme d'Or and the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film?"

As a somewhat well-known rising young actor in the country at the time, Lu Heng naturally could not escape it. Brother Sun, his manager, had simply found a way to obtain a copy of Autumn Dew White and made every artist under him watch it carefully and write their own thoughts afterward. He then compiled several possible responses based on reporters' questions. Naturally, the response drafts differed according to each artist's personality.

After so many years, Lu Heng had mostly forgotten the specific details of the film. But Rong Xiu's utterly breathtaking performance as the second male lead had remained unforgettable.

He still remembered how, after Autumn Dew White was released worldwide, a trend of delicate, melancholy beautiful men had swept across the country and even all of Asia. For several years, exquisitely refined and melancholy young men sprang up everywhere like mushrooms after rain. Many films and television dramas also inexplicably added plots involving male actors cross-dressing as qingyi or huadan roles, or even male actors wearing women's clothing to "compete in beauty."

Lu Heng secretly glanced at Rong Xiu, seated behind the table with a serene smile and features as picturesque as a painting. The image of him appearing onstage in makeup, peerlessly elegant, immediately surfaced in his mind.

He read through the audition material several times, then placed the sheet face-down on the table.

Fang Kaizhi's eyes lit up. "You don't need to read from it?"

"No." Lu Heng shook his head and said with a grin, "It's only a few lines. I memorized them already."

His confident, flamboyant tone, with just a hint of smugness, made everyone's eyes light up. Lu Heng had clearly entered the role.

Then Lu Heng suddenly crouched down, propping his chin on one hand. His pitch-black eyes darted back and forth as though watching people pass before him. A lazy smile curved his lips, while his gaze was bright and clear, like rippling autumn water. It made hearts tremble at the sight.

His gaze shifted, then suddenly fixed on the disturbance ahead. Frowning, he silently watched a brother and sister-in-law force a thin, scrawny youth onward, cursing as they spouted all kinds of nonsense.

Lu Heng abruptly stood, took two steps forward, and made a motion to block them. "Hey, what are you doing?"